


Heroes of the Old Republic

by jairyn



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Legends: The Old Republic, Star Wars Prequel Trilogy, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Anisoka, F/M, Fulcrum, Guardians - Freeform, Jedi, Sentinels, Shadows - Freeform, Sith, Snips - Freeform, Star Wars - Freeform, The Force, balance, consulars, old republic, sages - Freeform, skyguy, warriors - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-08
Updated: 2018-09-13
Packaged: 2019-06-23 17:15:04
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 26
Words: 49,916
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15611091
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jairyn/pseuds/jairyn
Summary: During the Old Republic, Anakin Skywalker known as the Chosen One, was a legendary fighter that helped beat back the Sith and lead the galaxy to peace. Believing the Sith were now extinct, the Jedi council convinced him to preserve himself for later generations. He was secretly frozen in carbonite and hidden away to be awoken if needed at a later date. His former padawan who was also his wife, learned of the plot and hatched her own to make sure the next time he was awoken, she’d be brought back too.1000 years later, the Sith have returned in full force, stronger than ever and the Clone Wars are in full effect. On the verge of collapse, the Chancellor of the Republic begs the Jedi order to awaken their secret weapon. Not knowing he’s hoping to use the Chosen One against them, they begin searching for him. But all knowledge of his location seems to have been lost and their only hope of finding him lies with Ahsoka. Now that the powerhouse couple has been woken and reunited, will they be enough to stop the threat and save the galaxy one more time? Or will the modern Jedi’s disapproval of their relationship and their methods throw the galaxy into even deeper darkness?Requested by Anisoka66. Thanks for the idea!





	1. Fulcrum

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Anisoka66](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=Anisoka66).



            Her nose itched. Which was a stupid thing to care about, but now that she was aware of it, she couldn’t stop thinking about it. She squeezed her eyes shut, everything was so bright. She tried to wriggle her fingers, but they wouldn’t move. She blinked a few times, but her vision was cloudy. The forces holding her body still released and she fell to her knees, barely managing to get her hands under her. Her head was pounding, and she took a deep breath. The floor in front of her slowly swam into view. She ran her fingers across the intricately patterned tiles. They weren’t familiar. She rolled her shoulders as she tried to sense her surroundings. Everything was fuzzy for a moment. There were unfamiliar sounds and smells; voices she didn’t recognize. How long had she been asleep? 

            Nothing was attacking her, so whoever had awoken her must be an ally. Perhaps another Jedi. She summoned her strength and stood, ignoring the dizzy feeling that raced through her brain and focused on the handful of people standing in front of her. She didn’t recognize any of them. She flexed her fingers and finally scratched the itch that was driving her nuts.

            “Are you the Fulcrum?” one of them asked, stepping forward. She studied the bearded human male in front of her. He had soft blue eyes, but lines etched across his face as though he hadn’t slept for years. She could feel his power.

            “I am,” she replied, finding her voice at last. “The name’s Ahsoka Tano.” She glanced from face to face. Besides the human that had spoken there was a small green creature that appeared older than time. He reminded her a bit of master Tokare who'd preserved his knowledge in the noetikon of science. There was another human male, taller than the first with dark brown skin and sharp features. And a Cerean, no surprise there, another male; females were rare in his species. His pale skin and domed head in strange contrast with the white fluff growing from his chin. Where were all the women?

            "The Chosen One, we need to find. Help us, you will?" the little green creature said. It was a question, but it felt more like a demand. 

            She crossed her arms. "How about you introduce yourselves first? I don't take just anybody to him." At least her plan had worked. She was excited about the prospect of being reunited with him. The idea of freezing themselves for generations had terrified her, she'd have much rather lived out the remainder of her life with him. But then he'd had to go and be all noble by preserving himself in case he was needed at a later date. Which reminded her, he was going to get a piece of her mind for doing that without telling her. Had he thought she wouldn't notice that her other half just vanished?  _I love you, Skyguy, but you test my patience sometimes!_

            "Our apologies," the bearded man who had spoken first started. "I am Obi wan Kenobi. This is Master Yoda." He pointed to the green creature. Then the other human male. "Mace Windu." And then to the Cerean. "Ki-Adi-Mundi."

            She bowed to each of them. "Are you Jedi?"

            "Yes, we're members of the council. Master Yoda is the grandmaster."

            She looked around, finally taking in the room. It was a large, circular space with windows in every direction. Chairs of varying shapes and sizes formed a half circle around the center. It was simply decorated, but the architecture itself was an art. She moved over to the windows and saw the expanse of buildings in varying heights on various levels. Spaceships and speeders of all sizes crisscrossed through the sky. So, she'd been brought to Coruscant? It had been a long time since she'd seen this planet, it was hard to tell how different it was from first glance. 

            She could feel the power of the building they were in, but it didn't look anything like the Jedi temple she remembered. "Everything appears peaceful, so why are you looking for the chosen one?" she asked, studying them again. When she'd first made the decision to join him in the future, she'd expected them to be awoken in a battle zone and have to fight immediately. This felt too calm, almost unnecessary.  

            "Need him, we do," the grandmaster said. "Resurfaced the Sith have. Hidden among us, a dangerous threat."

            "But all the Sith were killed. How did they come back?" she asked worriedly. This was troubling indeed. Who had survived? And where had they escaped to?

            "Know not, we do." She looked at the one they'd introduced as Yoda in confusion. Why did he talk so strangely? She'd met plenty others of his species and they spoke perfect basic. 

            "Are you all that's left of the Jedi order?"

            "No, there are about ten thousand of us spread around the galaxy," the dark-skinned human said. 

            "Ten thousand?" she said in surprise. "Why so few?"

            "Much has changed since you were frozen," Obi wan said. "But please, we need to find him. Can you help us?"

            She crossed her arms feeling stubborn all of a sudden. When the old council had made the decision to preserve him in carbonite, they'd put no guidelines into place as to who could wake him up or why. Not wanting to be left behind, she'd carefully doctored the information as to where he went so that if they wanted him, they'd have to wake her up first. So, in that regard, she'd made it her duty to be the gatekeeper. Even in slumber, she would protect him. Only she knew where he was, how to get to him and how to unlock it. But from the minimal amount of information these Jedi had told her, she hardly felt his skills were required. 

            "How many Sith are we talking about?"

            "Only two, one's identity still eludes us," the Cerean said. 

            "Only two?" she scoffed. "Ten thousand Jedi and only two Sith, and you still need the Chosen One's help? The Jedi order has fallen weak!" She paced back and forth.

            "We're not weak," the Cerean said indignantly. 

            "Clouded, the force is."

            She stopped pacing and looked back at them. "Waking up the Chosen One for something like this? It's... it's an affront to his memory! He's battled hundreds of Sith in his lifetime. And so have I. And you can't even handle two?" She rolled her eyes. Was now the time to demand they put her back to sleep and wake her up when there was a real threat?

            "Strong they have become. Pulling strings, we cannot see," master Yoda said. 

            "Weak and blind," she muttered under her breath. 

            "You were his padawan, were you not?" the bearded man said. If circumstances were different, she might like him. He definitely seemed the friendliest of the bunch. 

            "Oh, I was a lot more than his padawan," she said, standing up straighter and staring them down. "If you want me to wake up my husband, you better prove to me his skills are needed."

            "Did she say husband?" one of them whispered to another. She nearly rolled her eyes again. They must not know Togruta have excellent hearing. 

            "Is there a problem?" She looked amongst them.

            "You were both Jedi, were you not?"

            "Of course we were. We still are. What does that have to do with anything?" she asked in annoyance. _Speaking of trying her patience..._

            "The Jedi order doesn't allow attachments, let alone personal relationships of that nature," Obi wan said. 

            She looked between them in surprise. "Since when? Relationships have always been allowed. As long as you can exercise good judgement, the council had no say in our personal lives."

            She'd barely been awake in the future, whenever this was, for a few minutes and these so-called Jedi were already demanding things of her and frowning on her relationship with Anakin. What did they know anyways? He was the love of her life, and she would not be made to feel shame over it. All she knew for sure right now, was that these new Jedi were weak, blind and ignorant. Perhaps even controlling. No wonder they needed him to leap in and save the day! They appeared to be destroying themselves. If that were the case, then yes, two cunning and scheming Sith could be enough to undo them. Anakin would be so ashamed that this was what the glorious Jedi order had been reduced to. 

            "That's not the way of things in our time," Master Windu said, some hostility in his tone. 

            She looked at him bemused. "I'll have you know, masters... if you're asking us for help, then you're going to have to let us do this our way. Whether we disagree or not, I’ll respect your ways if you respect ours."

            "Solve this, at a later date. Come. Show you, we will," master Yoda said, tapping his twisted wooden stick hard on the marble floor. The others bowed their heads and fell silent. For members of the council, none of them appeared to willingly stand up to him. That was interesting, and worrisome. What had happened to the Jedi she'd known? The ones that didn't follow blindly? Or control every aspect of their members' lives? The ones that supported and taught rather than order around? If they were annoyed by her attitude, they were not going to take very kindly to his. 

            He did not take no for an answer. And he did not take orders well. He was unconventional at the best of times, but he was powerful and good. She knew as well as he did that though structure was important, it had to be able to bend without breaking. She had a feeling that he'd snap one rule of this new order and the whole thing would crumble. So, while she was the gatekeeper that determined who could wake him up, she also had to be sure the galaxy was ready for him if she did. And she wasn’t sure they were ready for his kind of help.


	2. State of Affairs

            She followed them down the hallway, taking in all the sights. Everyone she passed stared at her as though they’d never seen a Togruta before. She was relieved to see that the whole place wasn’t only men, since they had a tendency not to be so open-minded. She wondered how many of these people knew who she was or why she was here. 

            They stopped to let a line of younglings go by. One of them turned and looked up at her with big green eyes. She smiled at the little girl, she was human too and couldn’t be much older than five or six. To her surprise, she ran over to her and threw her arms around her legs. She patted her on the head and when she let go, she knelt down to her level. “What’s your name?” she asked the girl. 

            “Helalin,” she whispered, crossing her hands behind her back. 

            “Hello Helalin,” she brushed her fingers down her cheek, pushing her dark hair out of her face. The girl blushed.

            “Is it true?” she asked. “They’re going to wake the Chosen One?”

            “Now youngling,” Obi wan stepped forward. “That’s none of your concern. Now run along. Master Damsin will be wondering where you are.”

            She watched the little girl run down the hallway after the rest of her class. Was it true they were going to wake him? Yes, probably, though she still wasn’t convinced he was actually needed for whatever was going on. She just wanted to see him again. She stared after the child, swallowing the longing she felt. When the war had ended, she’d hoped that her and Anakin could finally start a family. Before they’d had a chance to even talk about it, he’d vanished on her. She looked down at the carpeted floor beneath her feet. Why hadn’t he told her what he was doing? It felt a little too much like he’d wanted to get away from her. He was powerful, of course, she knew what he could offer future generations. But hadn’t he wanted her there with him? Why would he leave her like that?

            “Master Tano.” She looked around, blinking away the weight that had fallen over her. The people she’d been following gestured for them to continue in the direction they’d been going. She nodded and moved her feet again. 

            They entered a much darker room and went down a couple steps to a large holotable in the center. There she met several other people. A kel dor greeted her politely and she bowed in response. He introduced himself as Plo Koon. Then a nautolan stepped forward and was introduced as Kit Fisto. And then finally, Adi Gallia, a tholothian. And as far as she could tell, the first female council member. Possibly the only one. Once introductions were made all the way around, master Yoda directed her attention to the holotable. 

            They showed her a series of recordings of battles happening around the galaxy. She half wondered if they expected her to be impressed. Her mind kept wandering to the little girl and wanting to hold her husband again. They’d informed her that she’d been asleep for a thousand years. The war they were showing her images of was terrible, there was no denying that. But she’d fought in countless battles against far worse enemies than droids. It still felt as though their plea for the Chosen One was unfounded. 

            “The Republic is on the verge of collapse. The Jedi are spread far too thin and we don’t have enough clone troopers to defend all our allies and our resources,” someone was saying, and she looked back up at the information in front of her. 

            “Clone troopers?” she asked in surprise. “That’s your army? Since when do Jedi, or the Republic for that matter, build people to fight? To risk your life and serve should be a choice.” She looked from face to face again. Things were getting weirder by the minute. Whether she believed Anakin _should_ be awoken for what was going on now was becoming irrelevant. She wanted him here to help her understand.

            “A former member of the order foresaw the war we’re now in and knew the Republic would need an army. So, he commissioned the creation of millions of clone troopers. Without them, we’d have lost already,” Master Windu replied shortly.

            “I’m not questioning their bravery,” she said in response. “I’m questioning your judgement in using them. No wonder the force has become clouded for you. The influx of life created by these clones, and the consequential influx of death, would allow any clever Sith to hide in plain sight. You’ve unbalanced the force.” She crossed her arms in annoyance.

            “What would you have us do then?” Master Kenobi asked. “Without the clones, the Separatists would have easily wiped out the Republic since they were far more prepared for this war than we were.”

            “Without understanding the whole situation, I cannot say. But you are walking a dangerous path. _All_ life is sacred to a Jedi. I remember the very first time I had to take one. Master Satele Shan herself, the leader of the Jedi order, sat me down and asked me how it felt. She told me that every life influences the balance of the force and that if we allow ourselves to become complacent to the imbalance, we lose our hold on the light and become no better than our enemies.” She looked around.

            “Know that, we do,” master Yoda said.

            “Do you? If this Confederacy is run by a Sith, then I can tell you with absolute certainty exactly what he is doing to you and why you cannot see it. As you run side by side with these clones, you learn to push aside the sense of loss every time another nameless member falls. Every one that falls is replaced with another nameless being. This happens until you become numb to the life being lost around you. You become immune to the effect of death and how that disrupts the very force that you use. Before long, you lose your own hold on the force, significantly weakening yourselves and those around you, until the entire order can no longer see clearly. That little girl we crossed in the hallway? She is stronger in the force and her senses than all of you combined. She has yet to be contaminated by your complacency. Now I understand why two Sith are such a threat,” she huffed. “They are forcing you to destroy yourselves. When the moment is right, all they’ll need to do is blow on you and the Jedi order will crumble. Though I do not believe this war requires the Chosen One’s power, it is becoming clear to me, that you need his help to fix your own mess.”

            “I don’t think you understand the situation…”

            “Oh really? I think I understand it better than you,” she said indignantly. “Might I remind you, you woke _me_ up for help. And you expect me to wake _him_ up for help. If our help is what you want, then I suggest you listen to what we have to say. Otherwise, waking him up will cause you far more problems than you’re already dealing with.”

            “But he’s the Chosen One, isn’t he? A hero of the Jedi?” Master Gallia asked.

            She softened a little as she looked over at the tholothian, the only other female in the room. “Yes, he is the Chosen One. Yes, he is a hero. He is a Master and was bestowed with the title of Barsen’thor.” She glanced at the cerean to note his reaction, seeing as that title originated from their species. “His achievements are great. However, his path to victory will not be the same as yours. His duty is to protect the Republic and the Order even if it means protecting either from itself.”

            “You make it sound as though we should not want to awaken him,” Master Plo said quietly. She looked at the kel dor who had spoken.

            “You asked for help, so he will help you. I’m merely suggesting that you be ready to accept the help he offers,” she replied simply. “If you do not like what I have told you, you won’t like what he has to say. And if you refuse to reflect on your own actions in this war, then perhaps it is time for the Jedi order to be recycled.”

            “Think about this, we will,” master Yoda said at last. “Obi wan, to the shipyard, take her.” He bowed respectfully to the grand master and directed her out of the room.

            She gave a curt nod to them and followed master Kenobi. She hadn’t exactly meant to seem disrespectful, but if they wanted help, they needed to be prepared for it. She was disappointed to discover this was what had become of the Jedi order. Were they all this close minded? She’d sensed the power in that girl, Helalin. The force still represented just as strongly in them all, but it was as though they were denying their potential. Everything she could gather since being awoken was that they’d withdrawn from the Republic, despite being in the center of it. They’d stopped being involved, they’d focused inwards on meditation and intellectual pursuits. That wasn’t a bad thing, but it had to be balanced with the rest of what it meant to be a Jedi. You can’t just hide out in a temple and expect the world to figure things out. Otherwise… well, this happens. Two Sith, with grand designs, completely undermine your organization and catch you completely unprepared. She really dreaded Anakin’s reaction to all of this. _And they thought she was being difficult…_  


	3. Homecoming

            Master Kenobi led her to the Coruscant shipyard where several gigantic ships floated above them. They were large enough to be cities. How many people lived and worked on them? 

            "Three thousand," Obi wan said. She glanced at him. 

            "All clones?"

            "Most are, yes," he said simply as though he still completely disagreed with her earlier statement. Three thousand clones on each ship. How many survive when a cruiser is lost? Did she even want to know? “I confess, a lot of information of the old order has been lost. The main piece that has survived was that there was some Chosen One who was a legendary fighter. We don’t know much about him and even less about you.” She watched people bustle about as they prepared one of the ships for takeoff. At least they’d been correct in assuming that Anakin wasn’t on Coruscant. “What does ‘Fulcrum’ mean?”

            “It was an honorary title given to me within the order, for playing a pivotal role in ending the Jedi-Sith war,” she explained. “Just as Anakin was bestowed with the title ‘Barsen’thor,’ which means ‘warden of the order.’”

            “He sounds impressive, as do you,” Obi wan murmured thoughtfully. “With the way things are going, we can use all the help we can get.”

            She swallowed her snippy comment that they’d gotten themselves into this mess. “It will be an honor to restore order once again,” she said instead. She looked up to see two heavily armored men approaching. Both were wearing white from head to toe, though one had faded yellow paint and the other blue.

            “Commander Cody and captain Rex reporting for duty,” the one with the yellow on his armor said and they both saluted them.

            “Thank you, Cody,” Obi wan said softly. There was affection in his tone. At least some of the Jedi seemed to see them as people. That was a start. “This is Ahsoka Tano, she will be leading us to the Chosen One.”

            She bowed politely. “Please, remove your helmets.” They glanced at each other and then did so. She studied them both. Identical faces; same shape, same eyes, same features. The one that had been introduced as Cody, had short dark hair in a simple cut with a large painful scar around his left eye. The other one, Rex, had bleached blonde stubble and a short scar along his jawline. Physically, almost the same. In the force, very different. Each had been shaped by different experiences. She circled them. She glanced over Rex’s shoulder to see Obi wan shrug at Cody and she tried to hold her tongue. He had affection for them but made no effort to know them. Rex wore a pauldron over his left shoulder, likely denoting rank, along with the black kama around his waist that holstered two pistols. Cody, however, wore neither of those things. She ran her hand down the black markings etched into the arm piece of Rex’s armor and saw many more on his helmet. “You have a numerical designation, I assume?” she asked.

            “Yes sir,” Cody answered.

            “CT-7567,” Rex replied.

            “But you go by a name? Who names you?”

            “We name ourselves,” Rex answered quietly.

            She glanced back at Obi wan. “Do the Jedi call you by these names?”

            “Most of the time, yes,” Cody said. She could feel their confusion.

            “Good.” She straightened finally. “I suppose it’s time to get going.” She didn’t have to see it to know they all looked amongst themselves as she started walking towards the ship. She took a deep breath. They were good soldiers, good people. She could tell. But it bothered her that neither of them had any choice in whether they served. Nor any of the other thousands of clones she was going to cross paths with before her time here was finished.

            If there was anything she hoped to instill in this new order it was to remind them that they were all people and they all deserved respect. And not just to use these clones as meat shields or care not at all when they fell. The idea of it all, disgusted her. And she knew Anakin would be just as horrified. Rex’s armor was covered in marks, either checking off kills or checking off deaths. Either way, it meant more to him than it meant to the Jedi.

            Aboard the cruiser, she struggled to not go from clone to clone and touch them. She wanted to feel them all in the force, know all of their names. She would not be made complacent by the same thing that had blinded the current order. They were alive, and they were valuable. And their deaths or sacrifices should not be dismissed simply because they’d been created to fight.

            “Where are we going?” An officer stepped forward when she was led to the bridge.

            “Tython,” she replied after introductions were made. He wasn’t a clone like the others.

            “Tython?” Obi wan asked in surprise. “But there’s nothing there.”

            She felt her heart clench at his words and she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She looked back out the glass as the cruiser navigated its way out of the atmosphere. “He is.” She’d hidden him well, she refused to entertain the possibility that he wouldn’t still be where she’d left him. She supposed it had never occurred to her that the home world of the Jedi order would be destroyed or even forgotten. The council had hidden him away in the deeper reaches of the temple, but she’d moved him. She’d moved him because she didn’t trust he’d be safe there, nor would she be able to protect him in the same manner. It was the first and only time she’d disobeyed the will of the Jedi council and now she hoped she hadn’t made a horrible mistake in doing so. _Please still be there…_

             It was a short trip, barely a few hours. The Republic cruisers were fast and Tython wasn’t very far from Coruscant. She directed the pilot of the gunship to land near where the once grand Jedi temple had stood, and she stared at the spot in horror when she departed the ship. A week ago, it had been there, full of life and learning. No that wasn’t true. It was a week for her… a thousand years for everyone else. She tried to power through the rush of emotion as she moved closer to where the entrance had been. There was very little that so much as hinted a building had existed here.

            “I don’t see anything other than rocks,” she heard Cody say from behind her.

            “If there was something there, it’s gone now,” Obi wan replied solemnly. “This is not good.”

            She turned to look at them. Obi wan, Cody, Rex and twelve other clones; some with white and blue armor, some with white and yellow. She desperately tried to hold herself together not wanting to look weak in front of them. She looked between them as they inspected their surroundings as though mildly curious. None of them appeared to have any sensitivity to the world she’d left behind that now stood in ruins. Or rather, no longer stood at all. She wasn’t ready to congratulate herself for moving him, because if this was the state of the old Jedi temple… what would be the state of the place she’d moved him to be?

            Rex made his way towards her and she watched him approach. There was something about him, despite being a replica of the others, she liked him. A lot. “Are you alright, sir?” he asked quietly.

            “Yes, thank you,” she replied quickly, feeling distinctly not alright, but swallowing her fears anyways. “We’d better get moving so we make it there before it gets dark.” She raised her voice, so the others could hear her. “Keep your weapons ready, Tython is a wild place.”

            “But,” Obi wan started and she looked at him intensely.

            “This was where the Jedi temple stood,” she interrupted him. “This is where the council put him. But I moved him.”

            Obi wan narrowed his eyes slightly in confusion. “This was once a Jedi temple?”

            “The grandest,” she said. “Come on, we have a hike ahead of us.” She turned to the left and started heading up the hill, following the path that was hard to see now. But she remembered this trek well, she’d walked it a million times as a youngling and as a padawan. And then one final time, when she’d spirited him away, deciding his fate against the orders of the Jedi.

            Master Kenobi caught up with her. “If the council put him there, why did you move him?”

            “Because it was the only way I could protect him,” she said simply, not wanting to explain her motivation.

            “You didn’t trust the council to do so?”

            “It wasn’t a matter of trust,” she replied. “It was a matter of love.”

            He opened his mouth as though to speak but seemed to decide against it. They fell silent. She was grateful for that. They hiked for a couple hours, making their way to the ruins of Kaleth and turning past it and further up into the mountains. She could sense animals nearby, but none came near enough to be a problem.


	4. Waking the Chosen One

            “This place used to be overrun by flesh raiders,” she said after awhile, trying to distract herself from the knot in her throat. “I’m glad to see them gone. Nasty things. Killed plenty of young padawans before they had a chance to become Jedi.”

            “What is a flesh raider?” Rex asked, coming up on her other side. She smiled at him.

            “They were native creatures to Tython. Thought to be peaceful at first, uncivilized. So, we left them alone. Then someone taught them how to use blasters and other more advanced weapons. It wasn’t long before they became a serious threat, raiding the training grounds and wiping out any that couldn’t get out of their way. We tried to reason with them, but they were only out for blood; lusting after their new-found power,” she answered sadly. “Some of them showed competency in the force but didn’t take instruction well. One of them did though, became a great Jedi.”

            “You took in anything that could use the force? At any age?” Obi wan asked.

            “Of course, what else would you do with them? Leave them to become dangers to themselves or others?” she asked indignantly. “Don’t you?”

            “We only bring in younglings, age three or four. The others are too old to train.”

            She stopped walking and stared at him incredulously. “You can’t be serious.” She shook her head in disbelief. At least she understood the deeper reason the Jedi numbers had dwindled so dramatically. The assumption they could find every force sensitive at only a small window of opportunity, was so… so _presumptuous_. She didn’t have words anymore for her frustration at everything she’d been learning about this new order. But worse, to only bring them in when they’re too young to know any better? Or too young to come into their power and senses without being corrupted by this narrow-minded way of thinking? Just thinking about it made her sick. Perhaps the Sith that were pulling all these strings were actually doing the galaxy a favor by destabilizing the Jedi order. At least that way they have a chance of strengthening themselves by reevaluating their beliefs and their methods. “Any force sensitive of any age can be trained. To think otherwise, is a gross misinterpretation of the force. And demonstrates not a lack of ability on the end of the student, but rather the teacher.”

            “Perhaps that was true in your time, but our method has been working for hundreds of years,” he replied in a tone that told her he did not feel her belief was well founded.

            _Oh, Anakin… I’m almost sorry to wake you up to this. But maybe you’ll have better luck convincing them._ She rolled her eyes. “If it’s been working so well, why are there only a fraction of Jedi left in the galaxy?” She crossed her arms and glared at him. She knew she shouldn’t be making enemies with this new order. She was just so frustrated with everything. They were so arrogant. They refused to hear a word she said. How were they expected to help them if they only cast the blame on everything other than themselves? How could they have forgotten so much of what it means to be a Jedi? _Look inwards first. Do not blame others until you can first claim to be blameless._ She sighed. They truly believed they _were_ blameless… that was the problem.

            She continued walking, needing a break from all of it. At least it had been distracting until they’d made it to the waterfall cave. The clones turned on their helmet lights and followed her inside. Other than a few wingmaw, they ran into nothing as she led the way through. Tython was so empty now, it hurt. She wished she could feel him, but until they released him from the carbonite, she wouldn’t be able to again.

            To her relief, the ruins where she’d hidden him away were still standing when they emerged from the cave. She let out the pent-up worry that had been consuming her since she’d laid eyes on the nothingness.

            “Wow,” master Kenobi said. “We had no idea there was anything left here.”

            She decided not to respond and sprinted up the steps, heading to the secret entrance in the back. She led them deep underground through the maze of passageways, surprised to not meet any kind of resistance. No sign that the place she’d left him had been disturbed. That was good. That was very good. Her anticipation was growing the closer they got to his hiding place. But at the same time, she didn’t want to seem too eager. She was still mad at him for doing this without telling her.

            She reached her hand out focusing on the heavy stone that covered the entrance to his chamber. She fell deep into the force, pushing her doubts aside and focusing on the task at hand. With a loud release of air, the rock moved forward and slid to the side. Her heart leapt into her throat when she saw the slab of carbonite still there where she’d left him. _Thank the force…_

            “Well folks,” she said, trying to contain the excitement in her tone. “Meet the Chosen One.” She walked forward quickly and hit the buttons to melt the carbonite and release him. She should have caught him when he fell, but she didn’t. She put one of her lightsabers to his throat the moment he landed on his knees. He froze. The others present raised their weapons as though to stop her from hurting him. “You have some explaining to do,” she growled under her breath.

            “Ahsoka?” he sounded confused and she closed her eyes for a second. How could she stay mad at him? He looked around, his eyes were cloudy. She almost felt sorry for him, having to deal with the carbonite sickness for awhile. “I know I should have told you, but this is bigger than us.” He groped at the air, distinctly moving his neck carefully away from her lightsaber, but she kept it next to him. “This isn’t a game, I’m supposed to help future generations.”

            She curled her lips, struggling to keep her anger. Mainly because she was just so happy to hear his voice again. “Joke’s on you, Skyguy,” she snapped. “I’ve had a thousand years to hold a grudge.”

            “What?” he asked in confusion.

            “Welcome to the future,” she sighed, putting her lightsaber away and pulling him to his feet. He staggered weakly as he struggled to stand on his own. Even though he looked around, she could tell he couldn’t see anything. “Let’s get you out of here before you ask a million questions.”

            “What are you doing here?” he brushed aside her comment. The way he’d said it hurt. She took a deep breath and helped him out of the chamber.

            “Leading the future Jedi to you, of course.”

            “But… I was in the temple… this place smells stale,” he murmured.

            “The temple was destroyed,” she said sadly. “I moved you. Turns out, I saved your life by doing so. You owe me, Skyguy.”

            “But…” She stopped walking and he stumbled, falling back down. Before he could say anything else she leaned over and took his face in her hands, kissing him hard on the lips. A reminder to her they weren’t lost, and maybe to him for what he _could_ lose.

            “Uh, urmm…” Obi wan cleared his throat and she ignored him. She was disgusted enough with the new Jedi order, they were not going to stop her from greeting her husband. She brushed his wet hair out of his eyes, studying his face.

            “I love you,” she whispered. “Why didn’t you tell me what you were doing?”

            He brought his hands up, blindly feeling around. His thumb ran across her lower lip and it trembled. “It wasn’t personal, Ahsoka,” he breathed. She leaned her forehead against his, her chest tight. “I had to.”

            “Excuse me,” Obi wan stepped forward and she looked up at him in annoyance. “Are you the Chosen One?”

            “I am,” Anakin replied, looking up at him blankly. “Who are you?”

            “I am Obi wan Kenobi, a member of the Jedi council. You’ve been asleep for a thousand years. And we need your help.” She decided now wasn’t the time to try to explain everything she’d learned to him. So, she helped him back to his feet.

            “My name is Anakin Skywalker, and I’m happy to help.” She rolled her eyes. Yeah, just wait until he hears the situation. He won’t be so eager then.

            They made their way back outside, as Obi wan talked most of the time about what was going on. She was having to hold him up, the carbonite sickness wasn’t wearing off as quickly for him as it had for her. Maybe it had been the place she’d left him. They were about halfway back to the gunship and headed down the hill when Cody put up a fist to stop them.

            “Hold up,” he said, dropping the visor of his helmet down. “We have Seps, incoming.”

            “How did they find us?” Obi wan asked in exasperation. “We’d better call for backup.” She handed Anakin off to Rex and stood next to Cody to peer into the distance.

            “Stay back,” she said as she scanned the legion of droids that marched forward from their ship. There were at least a hundred of them. Mostly small brown, easy ones. Some bigger, likely more fortified ones with red eye sockets. Several domed ones with multiple legs and two tanks bringing up the rear. It seemed to be their typical line as she recognized the order from the clips they’d showed her. “I can handle this.”

            “But sir,” Rex started.

            “Help only if necessary, captain,” she said distractedly as she fell into the force and gave into the burst of speed.

            A few feet from the bottom, she threw both of her lightsabers down the center of the marching droids, leapt into the air and recalled them to her hands. She landed in the middle and slashed around her in a circle, wiping out everything within range of her sabers. She flipped to the side to miss fire and cut a few of the larger ones in half on the way back down. She dodged and weaved in and out of their ranks alternating between throwing her sabers and defending herself. Once the smaller, light droids had been wiped out, she repeated the process through the bigger ones. Leaping on top of one and jabbing down into it, hopping to the next one and repeating the same move.

            She lost herself in the force as her battle-hardened training surfaced once again, as though she’d just been doing this yesterday. Droids were easy. This was nothing at all. To them a hundred droids might seem like too much, but to her it was a walk in the park. She felt a tickle of awareness as she dropped back to the ground and ducked as a heavy missile shot above her head and hit the two tanks. They exploded in front of her and she shielded herself from the shrapnel. When the smoke cleared, she danced around the droids still standing and stood up, looking back towards the ridge.

            Rex was standing there with a large rocket launcher still over his shoulder. She smiled to herself and nodded to him. Then she pointed to the ship they’d departed from and he sent another rocket at it. Anakin was sitting on the ground next to him, as though he was disappointed he’d had to sit this one out. She chuckled softly and made her way back up to them.

            “I didn’t even know what she was up against,” Anakin was saying to Rex when she got close enough to hear. “But I told you she could handle it.”


	5. Reunited

            By the time they made it back to the Jedi cruiser he was still somewhat wobbly, and his vision still hadn’t completely returned. Obi wan was anxious to clue him into what all was going on, but she put her foot down. She understood that they felt their situation was dire, but it was her duty to look out for him. Even, she supposed, if he didn’t want her to. Besides, they didn’t have a clue what she’d been through since he froze himself and she needed some time with him to feel more okay with the situation at hand.

            Master Kenobi reluctantly gave in and led him to a room. “Here you are, you can recover here. We’ll be back to Coruscant in a few hours. Take this comm link and we’ll call you if anything comes up,” he said.

            “Thank you,” Anakin replied and tried to head inside but ran into the door frame. He pretended he meant to do that and kept going as though nothing had happened. She shook her head at him.

            “I’ll show you a room now,” Obi wan turned to her.

            “This _is_ my room,” she said simply. “Thank you.” She brushed past him before he could protest and let the door close behind her. Now that Anakin was awake again, and alive… she should be feeling much better. But ever since they’d brought her out of it, she was fighting to stay above the waves; vacillating between anger, annoyance, frustration, doubt and happiness. These new Jedi were not going to take the only thing away from her that kept her sane; _him_. Though, he too had caused her plenty of distress with this stupid stunt he’d pulled. He was acting like he couldn’t understand her hostility towards him and pretending it was no big deal at all.

            He collapsed onto the bed and rubbed his eyes. She took a deep breath. _You’re really lucky I love you as much as I do_. She went to the adjoining refresher and found a small towel that she ran under cold water. Once she wrung it out, she came back out and sat down next to him. He let her wash his face and undress him, so his wet clothes could dry faster and then she stripped down and climbed into the bed too.

            He stared at the ceiling, one arm over his forehead, probably trying to process everything Obi wan had told him. Why did it feel like there was such a gaping wound between them now? He’d hardly even looked at her, let alone felt the need to apologize or explain himself more than what he’d said in the chamber. He’d said it was bigger than them. Fine, but that didn’t mean they couldn’t still be a part of it, right? He’d sounded proud when he was bragging to Rex that she had things under control, but otherwise made no kind of indication he was happy to see her or happy that she was here beside him.

            She snuggled into him, feeling insecure about everything. Once upon a time it had made perfect sense. Like two people cut from the same cloth, they were made for each other. Made to be together. Their souls were made the same. Maybe they even were the same. From the moment she'd met him, she'd adored him. Side by side they'd taken on the world. They'd fought together, they'd lived together, they'd breathed together. And then...

            Without telling her, he'd slipped away. He'd left her behind. He hadn't wanted her to come. He hadn't wanted her to know. 

            Now here they were again. Reunited. Picking up where they left off in a new time and a new world, with new people and new problems. And suddenly she wasn't sure of anything anymore. She couldn't remember the last time she felt this uncertain. He'd said it wasn't personal. Like he hadn't wanted her to give up her life for him. But he didn't seem to realize, he  _was_  her life. The other stuff had been great, but it was nothing without him. 

            She walked her fingers up his bare chest, reveling in the feel of his skin and every groove, cut and texture. "A thousand years is a long time to not get to hold you," she breathed, wishing he'd pull her closer like he used to. 

            "It's not like we were conscious of it," he replied simply, brushing aside what she was trying to tell him. 

            "I know that," she said stubbornly. She kissed him softly where her head rested. "But if it _were_ possible, I'd have missed you every day." She held her breath wondering if he'd sense what she was feeling. He used to be so perceptive. He used to know her better than she knew herself. Despite being pressed against each other, it felt like he was drifting away.  _Come back,_  she pleaded silently.  _Please come back to me_.

            He didn't say anything for a few minutes and she risked a glance back at his face. He focused on her for the first time since they'd awoken him. "Hey," he said softly, running a hand down her cheek. "A thousand years wouldn't change the way I feel about you." She wanted to make a fuss. She wanted to demand to know why that wasn't what it felt like. She read his eyes, looking for signs that he was deceiving her. She didn't want to believe he'd lie about something like that, but she didn't know anymore. "Come here." He shifted so she could scoot up closer and he pulled her into his arms, kissing her gently on the forehead. 

            She tried to blink away the tears and doubts that were threatening to overwhelm her. Maybe she didn't really know what they were doing. Maybe he'd been right to leave her behind. Maybe he'd known she couldn't handle it. When she met his eyes, he kissed her on the lips. 

            "What's the matter?" he asked, genuine concern surfacing once again. 

            "You don't know what it was like to feel you there one minute and then gone the next. As though plucked from the force itself," she whispered. "I cried so hard. I thought something horrible had happened! I thought I lost you! Did you think I wouldn't notice?" 

            She sat up and crossed her arms, turning her back to him. He was behind her, sliding his arms around her waist. He kissed her a few times along the back of her shoulder and she squeezed her eyes shut. "I'm sorry, Ahsoka. I really am." He set his chin down on her shoulder and rubbed his cheek against her lekku.  "When the council made the suggestion, I didn't really want to go through with it. I'd rather have stayed with you. But then I felt like I was being selfish. So, I told them to do it before I could change my mind. I hoped maybe if you'd thought I'd died, you'd move on. You'd find somebody else. Then you could have the happily ever after that I could never offer you."

            She turned and looked at him. "The only way I could have 'happily ever after' is with you."

            He sighed and let her go. "I can't offer you that. My duty is to the Jedi, to the Republic, first. As long as they need me, I have to keep fighting. I can't walk away now and settle down."

            "I'm not asking you to settle down, Skyguy!" She crossed her arms. "I knew what I was getting into when I married you. My happily ever after isn't a mansion on Alderaan or a penthouse on Coruscant! My happily ever after is _you_. Wherever you go. Whatever you do. My place is by your side. And there's nowhere I'd rather be."

            She was pulled back into his arms before she could process it. His warm mouth all over hers. She brought her fingers up to play with his hair and sighed happily when he nibbled on her bottom lip, down to her jaw and found her neck. He pushed her lekku to the side and kissed her sweetly. 

            She'd missed him so much. Yeah maybe she hadn't been conscious of the passage of a thousand years, and in reality, it had only been a week of waking hours since she'd seen him last, but it felt like a lifetime ago. It felt like she'd been yearning for his kisses every second of the lost time. 

            His large hands were all over her, as needy and demanding as they usually were, and she fell into the familiar feeling and moaned happily. Whenever he consumed her, it made her feel like she was the only thing that could ever satisfy him. And she needed to feel that now, more than ever. 

            He licked up her lekku and found her lips again. She pushed him back and climbed over him, bending down to do her own explorations. She nibbled on his jaw, kissing the marks her pointy teeth made and then moved to the side of his neck. She smiled into his flesh when he grabbed her butt. She continued along his shoulder as though outlining him, impatient to fill in the missing pieces. He let her trail her kisses and tongue down his chest for awhile as she made art and left secret messages all over his skin with her mouth. 

            Then finally he groaned and flipped her over again. It was his turn to take charge. This was what they did, their release. They took turns. Sometimes they'd fight for dominance, but they both always left satisfied, full and happy. She hoped that would still be true tonight. He found her breasts, teasing a circle around them and then took her sensitive skin into his mouth. She sucked in a breath as they hardened for him. They were as in love with him as she was. His warm, wet lips were sending electricity rippling through her. 

            He moved down around her navel, then her hip bones and she parted for him. He slowed down to tease her mercilessly as he moved up her inner thigh. She grabbed at his hair as he disappeared between her legs and she moaned again. Warmth spread through her as she shuddered in response to his probing tongue. 

            "Tell me I'm the only one for you," she breathed. He peered up at her as though he were an aquatic creature that had surfaced for air. 

            "There is no one in the galaxy in this time or any time that I could want more," he whispered, licking his lips as though he'd been drinking from her like she was his life water. 

            The communicator the Jedi had given him went off and he summoned it to his hand. Disappointed, she fell back against the bed. He clicked it off, ignoring the call and threw it across the room. Then he was on top of her, spreading her legs and running his hands up her body. She looked up in surprise and he smiled at her; the sexy grin, half smirk that she loved so much.

            "What if they need you?" she asked in confusion. It wasn't that she wanted him to go, but he'd said his duty came first. 

            "I need you more," he breathed, leaning over to meet her lips and then he slid inside her. "Besides, they've waited a thousand years, they can wait a few more minutes." He pushed in further and she arched her back, wrapping her legs around his butt as he moved inside her. She ran her hands up and down his arms, digging in occasionally whenever he went deeper. 

            She watched his face screwed up in concentration, loving the happy daze and the way he chased his needs inside her. He dropped to his elbows and licked her skin, kissing her hungrily as he continued his music. She wrapped her arms tightly around his back and let him carry her along for the ride. She squirmed happily, trembling at the raw power and the way his energy tickled hers. She loved the electric friction as their sweaty skin moved against each other. She loved the sounds and smells, all of it. 

            He pulled out and she rolled over obediently. He squeezed her butt cheeks and she lifted it for him, so he could slide in again. His hot breath moved across her back, she turned her head to get her back lekku out of the way, so he had more surface area to draw on. He slid his hands up her and spread himself over her. She loved the weight of his body on hers as he pressed her into the bed. She stretched her arms above her head, moaning happily into the pillows. 

            He rode her harder, deeper and deeper into pleasure and release, and she trembled and shook as he took her to the edge like he always did. "Ahhh," she sighed, arching her back and curling her toes when warmth spread through her. He pressed in a few more times and then pushed in hard, filling her. He held the position for a moment and groaned and then he pulled out and rolled to the side. 

            She lifted his arm, so she could cuddle into him and he pulled her tight against him. There was no greater feeling in the universe than being in his arms. _None._  After everything she’d been through, she was happy to be home again.


	6. The Jedi Disease

            He looked around the room, finally able to absorb some of what was happening. He'd known when the council asked him to do this that it would be difficult waking up in a new time and having to get a handle on more than just whatever situation was going on. He supposed though, he hadn't expected it to be so long before he was woken again. The nature of the galaxy such that peaceful times rarely lasted. He was glad Ahsoka was here with him, even if it had been utterly unexpected. He always felt better when she was by his side. 

            And he owed her, big time, apparently. Not just for moving him from the temple that was destroyed, but also for being pretty forgiving considering what he'd done to her. He hadn't meant to hurt her like that, he'd thought he was doing the right thing. If he'd just told her what he was doing she'd have either tried to talk him out of it, demand to go along or have to live out her life feeling tied to something; therefore, not getting to have a good future. He hadn't wanted any of that. He'd known she'd feel it when his life force was suspended in the carbonite, he'd just hoped that eventually she'd be able to move on and find happiness somewhere else. Not that he necessarily wanted to let someone else have her. The burden that had been put on his shoulders was one he'd believed he had to carry alone. But just like every other time she stuck it out with him, she refused to let him take it alone. He really didn't appreciate her enough. 

            He reached out and put his arm around her shoulders, pulling her closer. She looked startled, but relaxed into him, her arm around his waist. He would never get tired of the way she felt next to him. The way she belonged there. Facing the future without her had been a terrifying prospect, but he'd swallowed his fear and let the council have their way. And right now, as he listened to the briefing on the state of affairs, he'd never been more grateful that she sometimes disobeyed orders. Hopefully, she could someday forgive him for not telling her the truth. 

            He was still struggling to clear his head completely from the carbonite sickness, but his time with her had dramatically improved his health. He was finally able to take in everything he was seeing. When he'd first noticed so many faces that appeared identical, he'd thought it was a side effect of the sickness. But now nearly everywhere he looked, he saw the same eyes, the same features... they had varying hairstyles and colors on their armor, but otherwise might as well be the same person. 

            He didn't want to say anything at first, still believing his eyes were deceiving him. From where Ahsoka was pressed against him, he could feel a mixture of annoyance and disgust as she listened to what this Obi wan said. Clearly, she knew some things he had yet to figure out and was most certainly not happy about it. All he'd heard so far was the Republic was deep in this war with a network of planets that had seceded from it. The situation didn't sound nearly as dire as this Jedi council member was making it sound. War of any kind was awful but considering what him and his wife had been through already, a bunch of battle droids would be an easy palette cleanser. But based on Ahsoka's reaction to everything, he had a hunch there was a lot more to it that wasn't being said, and likely it wasn't even about the war itself. 

            "Okay," he interrupted. "Let me get this straight. A group of planets seceded from the Republic and started a war against it. Now both sides are fighting for resources and trying to bring more planets over to their cause. And naturally innocents are getting caught in the middle, which usually happens during wars. So, these Separatists have battle droids, what do we have?"

            "Clone troopers," Ahsoka whispered. He stared at her for a second in disbelief. He'd felt it from her, but he'd felt it inside him too.

            "What?" he asked in surprise. Suddenly all the identical faces around him made sense. 

            Obi wan sighed and went on to explain, "Master Sifo Dyas foresaw this war. Believing the Republic would be caught unawares, which we were, he commissioned the creation of millions of clone troopers."

            "Hold up," he started. "If he foresaw this war, how were you caught unaware? In the amount of time it would take to build people, you should have easily been able to build an army from already existing people. Most of which should have been Jedi." He tried to swallow the horrible taste the concept caused in his mouth. Building people to fight the war for you? It was just wrong! It was slavery, plain and simple. Building droids to fight a war for you? Totally different story.

            "Well, Jedi aren't warriors, we're peacekeepers. We don't have the numbers to take on millions of battle droids," Master Kenobi replied as though the answer were obvious and he was stupid to question it. 

            He let go of Ahsoka and crossed his arms. "Okay, there was a lot of things you just said that doesn't make any sense, but first I want to address why Master Dyas wasn't taken seriously when he foresaw this war? And why steps weren't taken to prevent it?"

            "He claimed the Sith would return, but we knew them to be extinct. We had no reason to believe that could be true."

            He glanced at Ahsoka and raised his eyebrow. She pursed her lips and went back to glaring at Obi wan. "Okay... so a Jedi master had a vision about an improbable situation, so the council dismissed it as lunacy. He went against the will of the council and created clones to protect the Republic that didn't believe him. Now the war he predicted is in full effect, the Sith have in fact resurfaced, again as he predicted. How many Sith are we talking about? Considering how many there were, I'm not surprised a few survived. Even a handful would be easily manageable by well-trained Jedi. But... I'm guessing by my wife's reaction to all of this... I'm about to hear even more ridiculous things."

            "Two," she said. He brought his hands up to his face and rubbed his eyes at the rush of disbelief. "And get this, they don't even know who one of them is."

            He took a deep breath. "Two Sith," he said finally. "If two have surfaced, there have to be more. Because if there aren't... I don't even have words for what I'm hearing." He started pacing back and forth. 

            "After the Jedi-Sith Wars, one Sith survived. His name was Darth Bane. Apparently, hidden away, he instituted the rule of two. From that point on, there were only ever two. A master and an apprentice. He believed Sith killing each other was why they'd almost died out," Obi wan explained. "We know the identity of the apprentice, but not the master."

            "If this is the first time in a thousand years you've found Sith, how can you be sure there are only two?" he asked. "And I remember Darth Bane, he was a tricky one. Elusive. One of the last ones we fought, right, Snips?"

            "Yes. He must have survived his injuries somehow, but I'm not sure how. I felt his death," she replied. 

            "Me too," he said. "Which is actually even more troubling. How did he fake it? Or worse, how was he able to continue the Sith legacy in death?"

            "Well, it wasn't exactly uncommon for Sith spirits to influence those still living, but training a whole new generation of Sith from beyond the grave? I don't know..." She chewed on her lip a moment. He touched a hand to her cheek to comfort her and she looked up at him. He loved her big blue eyes. He'd never get tired of them. 

            "Well according to Obi wan here, he didn't train a whole generation, he trained one. Who later took their own apprentice and taught them everything they know. Based on the greedy lust for power the Sith are known for, likely the apprentice killed the master and then took their place. So on and so forth. If we're to believe there are in fact,  _only_  two, then they must be very powerful to elude millions of Jedi."

            "Ten thousand," Ahsoka said. 

            "What?"

            "According to the council, there are only ten thousand Jedi left in the galaxy." She looked down at her feet, but he felt the surge of frustration from her. 

            He glanced back at Obi wan. "For the first time in a thousand years, Sith have surfaced, and yet, there are  _only_  ten thousand Jedi? How have you lost so many?"

            "The amount of prospects have gone down."

            He glanced back at Ahsoka who clearly didn't believe master Kenobi, or rather, appeared to know more about it than what he was saying. "Ahsoka?"

            “I'm not sure you're ready to hear it, master," she whispered. This was not good. Whenever she fell back into calling him master, something was very, very wrong.

            He took her by the shoulders trying to get her to look at him. There were tears in her eyes. Something she'd already learned before they'd awoken him was causing her more distress than she admitted. He pulled her into his arms and tried to take a deep breath. 

            "Tell me what's going on," he said, summoning as much control over the situation as possible. "What has become a more dangerous threat to the Jedi than the Sith?"

            "The Jedi," she breathed against his chest. He was almost certain he was the only one that had heard her. And that she'd specifically made sure of that. He turned back to Obi wan. 

            "I want to talk to the rest of the council,  _now,_ " he said quietly, but with every ounce of authority he could project in the room. Suddenly everything he'd been feeling from Ahsoka made sense. They were killing themselves. Not in the blatant violent manner of the Sith, but in a slow degeneration as though they'd contracted a deadly disease. A disease, he assumed based on Ahsoka's frustration, they were completely ignorant of.

 


	7. The Chosen One's Warning

            "Forgive me, masters, if I sound rude," he started, trying to be as diplomatic as possible. "But introductions can wait." He stood in the center of the council chambers, feeling distinctly like an exhibit as sixteen people stared back at him in judgement. They sat around him in a semi-circle, some present only through a hollow transmission. "It has come to my attention that there is a bigger problem than your Separatists or Sith. And as Barsen'thor, it is my duty to address it."

            He felt Ahsoka shift, where she stood near the door. They hadn't exactly invited her in, but she'd refused to leave. However, this was his job at the moment and based on what she'd told him as they were led back to the Jedi temple on Coruscant, it wouldn't be an easy one.

            "We need your help on the front lines of this war, whatever this is can wait," a dark skinned human male said. "Or are you not the legendary fighter we've been led to believe?"

            He took a deep breath trying to keep his emotions in check. "With all due respect, it can't wait. Yes, I can fight. Ahsoka and I can easily turn this war in the Republic's favor. But then what? I've been awake for barely five hours and I am already distressed by what I see. I am a warrior, but my main duty is to protect the Jedi order from destruction. And as I look around me now and see the state of it, that is my top priority."

            "There is nothing wrong with the order as it stands, other than being sucked into a war we shouldn't be fighting," another member said; a cerean male. 

            "The Jedi order is not meant to be reclusive monks, that was never its intention or purpose. It was an order for people of power to learn, grow and connect with the galaxy around it," he replied. "And you have cut yourselves off from the most important aspect of being a Jedi; connection. My wife tells me, not only do you disapprove of relationships, you have the audacity to forbid them. Without relationships, we are nothing. We depend on each other for survival. Without connection to others, how do we serve the people? She also tells me, that you only bring children into the order, ages three or four. Too young to resist your brainwashing, too young to know their power. Too young to have support from their parents and families. But worse than even that, you've abandoned the others to a life of pain, struggle and darkness. You knowingly allow them to hurt themselves and others. Yet you claim," he glanced at Obi wan, "that prospects have dwindled. As though the force itself, no longer provides. Beyond that, you use slaves to help you fight this war. You support a government as corrupted and diseased as yourselves. But probably, the greatest failing I have seen so far, is your lack of vision. You have become arrogant and blind. And if I am to do my duty as the warden of the order, things must change,  _immediately._ "

            "Has it occurred to you, Chosen One, that perhaps our methods have changed for good reason?" He glanced towards the quiet voice. Knowing none of their names made it difficult to address them. 

            "Give me a good reason and I'll step down," he challenged. 

            "We have lived in peace and harmony for a thousand years. We help those we can, we learn, we grow. We spread the light and respect the force. We are a source of good and hope for all the galaxy. They look to us to save them."

            "If any of what you just said was true, you would not have needed me," he replied simply. "Even if you manage to save others, you cannot save yourselves."

            "We do not need saving," the dark-skinned male said again. "But there are millions out there that do and every second we waste here, results in even more death. Is that what you want?"

            He pulled his lightsaber to his hand and ignited it, pointing it at the ground in front of him. Raw power rippled through him and a crackle of electricity raced down his blue blade. "I will fight your war, and I will save your Republic, but if the Sith do not kill you then I will do what I must to preserve the Jedi order." He made a slow circle to look from face to face. "Consider this a warning."

            "You use dark side abilities? You're not a Jedi at all!" someone exclaimed. 

            "There is no dark side, or light side. There is only the force and how we choose to use it. I am a Jedi to the core. Every ounce of power I possess I have used for good. I led the Jedi order to victory over the Sith. And the Republic to victory over the Empire. I have fought for, lived, and breathed all that it means to be a Jedi." He pointed his crackling blade from face to face. "It is you that have forgotten. It's more than a code. It is a way of life. Words are meaningless if you cannot live them." He stabbed his lightsaber into the center of the mosaic on the floor, releasing a ripple of electricity in all directions. The holoimages flickered along with the lights. "If the Jedi order refuses to adapt and grow, then it will die." He shut it off and clipped it back to his belt. "You have much to discuss." 

            He made his way over to where Ahsoka was standing and put his arm around her. Together they left the room. They wandered the hallways for awhile, taking it all in, but mostly walked in comfortable silence. 

            "I'm really proud of you," she said after awhile. He looked down at her and smiled. 

            "Why?"

            "Because they've done nothing but try to run right over everything I've said since they woke me up. I didn't let them, of course, but to see you in there like that; standing up for everything we've fought for and for what it means to be a Jedi? It gave me chills." He squeezed her tighter to him. "And thank you, for hearing me."

            He stopped walking and leaned over to give her a kiss. "I trust you," he said honestly. "Maybe my duty comes first, but if you tell me something's going on, of course I believe you. You always knew better than most when something was wrong."

            "A few hours with these so-called Jedi and I forgot what it was like to be respected like that." She rolled her eyes. "I guess we really are in a different time. I just can't believe they've fallen so far."

            "Me either," he said solemnly. "It's going to take some adjusting to. Do you think I scared them into action?"

            "Well, I think you scared them," she muttered. "I have a feeling though, not only are they going to resist what you said, they're not going to be very trusting of us. Maybe we should have approached the situation differently."

            He brushed his fingers down her cheek. "Maybe, but I only spoke truth. If they refuse to listen, then we can't be responsible for the loss of the order. All we can hope to do is pick it up again when it falls."

            "Can you imagine a galaxy without the Jedi? It would be horrible," she whispered. 

            "Well from the sounds of it, it already is horrible, despite them still being here," he scoffed. 

            She looked past him, and he turned to follow her eyes. A little girl with long black hair stood there in simple robes, watching them with intense green eyes. He felt Ahsoka soften and she knelt down. The girl ran into her arms and she picked her up, hugging her close. "Is this him?" she whispered excitedly. 

            "It is," Ahsoka smiled at the girl. "Helalin, meet Anakin." He grinned at the girl and shook her hand. She watched him for a moment and then shyly buried her face in Ahsoka's neck.

            "You made a friend already," he teased. 

            "Probably the only one." Her mouth twitched. He ran his fingers through the girl's soft, dark hair. She looked back at him. 

            "Are you going to save us?" she asked. He studied the girl's face for a moment. Did she mean the galaxy, the Republic or the order? Why did it feel like she meant the order?

            "I hope so," he replied.

            "There you are!" a tall thin woman with greenish-blue hair exclaimed when she came around a corner and saw them. "Now child, you can't just keep running off like that." The little girl blushed and looked down at the floor. 

            "It's alright," he said. "She was just curious." He gave the girl a grin. "Curiosity is a great way to improve your senses."

            "Oh, I have no problem with her being curious," the woman laughed. "I struggle with keeping track of her. Since she likes to perform disappearing acts." She looked between the two of them. "I don't believe I've met you."

            "I'm Ahsoka and this is my husband, Anakin." 

            "Oh, you must be the ones everybody's been talking about." She nodded at them. "I'm Taria Damsin. It's a pleasure to meet you both. By the way, don't let the council get you down. If they were any stiffer, you could hang robes on them." She gave a soft, tinkling laugh. He liked her, she was a breath of fresh air compared to the rest of this place. "Well, come on, Helalin. These nice people have a lot of work ahead of them." She winked at them and took the little girl's hand when Ahsoka put her down. 

            They waved after them. "So." He crossed his arms and watched them go. "Maybe only the council needs recycling."

            "Well, at the very least, we know there are others here that haven't been lost yet," Ahsoka replied thoughtfully. "That's a relief."


	8. Meddling

            "Did you sleep alright?" he greeted her first thing in the morning with a kiss.

            "I'd have slept better  _with_  you," she murmured so she wouldn't be heard by the others.

            "Same here." He squeezed her hand gently. "But Obi wan is right, for now we need to be respectful of their ways as much as possible. Especially if we're going to get them to cooperate."

            "When are they going to start respecting our ways?" she muttered and rolled her eyes. He tried to hide the smile. He loved her feisty attitude. When she'd first been assigned to him, it had been frustrating to get used to, but now it was his favorite thing about her. It made everything so much more exciting and interesting. That's how she'd gotten her nickname. She was snippy. Not always in a rude way, just in a manner that told you she wasn't going to back down and she was going to tell you exactly what she thought of the situation. She also loved to give other people nicknames. She defaulted to calling him Skyguy more often than she'd ever called him master. So, she'd become Snips. It was their little game that had started when she'd first become his padawan at fourteen and carried over the next seven or eight years. Even after they got married, it was still what they called each other. It confused everybody else, but the council elected to ignore it as long as they did their job, which they always did. 

            "Well, you know as well as I do that change doesn't happen overnight," he said simply. "Come on, we'd better catch up." They'd fallen behind when master Kenobi had come to collect them the next morning, since both of them had been equally frustrated by the separated sleeping quarters arrangement. Even if they didn't let them share a room, they were still going to share time together. Especially since she was here too, and he'd originally thought she wouldn't be. 

            They caught up with Obi wan who'd stopped in the entry foyer to talk to someone. He stepped to the side, so he could see who he was talking to and froze. In front of him was a very attractive woman with dark brown hair and rich, deep brown eyes. Her skin was fair, and she had a beauty mark on her left cheek. She was dressed elegantly in a deep purple dress, with her hair twisted back in a bun and silver wings that crowned her head. 

            He stared at her a little too long, his mouth parting slightly in surprise. There was just something about her that had completely captured his attention. "Oh Senator, I'd like you to meet the Chosen One; Anakin Skywalker," Obi wan said, directing the woman's gaze towards him. He sucked in a breath when she turned those gorgeous eyes on him. 

            "It's a pleasure to meet you, m'lady." He bowed and took her hand in his, kissing it softly. 

            "Anakin, this is Senator Padmé Amidala of Naboo. She often works closely with the Jedi," Obi wan introduced her.

            "Is that so?" he smiled at her. He wouldn't mind working closely with her at all. He felt the elbow in his side. "Oof." Reality crashed back into him. "Oh uh, this is... er..."

            "I'm his wife. The name's Ahsoka Tano." She reached out to shake the senator's hand. He ran his fingers through his hair feeling stupid.  _Oh great._  He was never going to live this down. What the kriff had come over him?

            "Oh," the senator replied. Did she sound disappointed? "Well, it's a pleasure to meet you both." Her voice was soft, but strong. He liked it. "Well, I'd better get going. Master Yoda said the matter he needed to talk to me about was urgent. I hope I'll see you both around." Her eyes lingered on him a moment longer and then she turned to go. He watched her walk away admiring her form and grace. 

            "What the hell was that about?" Ahsoka demanded from next to him. 

            "What?" he asked in confusion. 

            "Don't act like you don't know, Skyguy!" She put her hands on her hips and narrowed her eyes. He swallowed carefully.

            "I was just being polite!" He looked around trying to find a way out of this mess. 

            "Any more polite and you might as well get a room!"

            "Oh, come on, Snips," he said jokingly. "You know you're the only Togruta for me."

            "She was human, you idiot." She pushed him and stormed off down the hallway.  

            "Sorry about that," Obi wan said awkwardly from beside him. 

            "It's fine, she'll get over it," he said quickly. Of course, she wouldn't get over it. Not very fast anyways. He was glad Ahsoka was here in this time with him, but if she hadn't been... he shook his head.  _Don't go there!_ She was right, he _was_ an idiot! He sighed. "Let's get to the briefing."

            "And that's one of the reasons we don't allow attachments," Obi wan said knowingly. "Jealousy and other strong emotions lead to the dark side."

            "Jealousy is as natural as any other emotion, it's how you act on them," he replied stubbornly. "And don't even think about implying that she can't handle herself in a situation simply because she's momentarily emotional!" He crossed his arms. "You will never meet someone more level-headed than Ahsoka."

            Obi wan looked like he was going to argue but changed his mind. "That has not been our experience," he said finally. "So, I eagerly await seeing you both prove me wrong." He said it in a tone that indicated he didn't truly believe either of them would prove him wrong. Which irritated him more than he cared to admit. 

            "Oh, trust me, we will," he promised, and set his jaw. He was going to have to make sure Ahsoka held her outbursts here among these new Jedi, otherwise they were never going to prove to them that the old way  _was_  the right way. 

            By the time him and master Kenobi made it to the briefing room, they were already deep in conversation. Ahsoka was standing off to the side, her lips tight and her arms crossed. She didn't even look at him, but he could tell she was trying to hold it down. He wasn't exactly sure why she was so hostile about something like that. Yeah, he'd gotten a little carried away, but she wasn't the jealous type. It probably still had to do with her insecurity over freezing himself without telling her. He really hoped that wouldn't cause an irreparable rift between them. 

            From the moment he'd found out the full situation here, beyond the war itself, he was incredibly grateful she was here too. Without her, he doubted he'd be able to fix this damage. She was far more thoughtful and observant, and much better at questioning things that otherwise went unquestioned. Without her information, he'd probably still be floundering to understand just how deep the problem went. He also had a tendency to be too much of a people pleaser and didn't always have the courage to openly oppose things. It's one of the things he'd come to depend on her for; she stalwartly defended what was right, not caring if people liked her. 

            Which was probably why these new Jedi didn't like her already. If they didn't like their methods or motives questioned, or even believed there was nothing _to_ question, a fiery little Togruta with a big attitude was going to be more of a nuisance than a help. But she didn't back down from a cause she believed in, even when she probably should. And he couldn't imagine what this must be like for her. To wake up in a new time, surrounded by narrow-minded people that didn't respect her or any of her achievements and then be pretty much overlooked because they were all expecting  _him_  to save them. She might not be the Chosen One, but he never would have survived without her. Therefore, in many ways, she was far more important to the galaxy than he was.

            He moved over to her because he wanted to hold her, but she flashed him a warning look that she wasn't yet ready to forgive him for what had just happened. So, he stood there awkwardly next to her, feeling her waves of frustration and annoyance. And sinking deeper into guilt and stupidity.  _Oh brother..._  She had every right to put him in his place. He deserved it.

            "I'm sure you two work the best together, but with our resources spread so thin, we think it would be a better strategy to split you up," someone was saying, and he looked up trying to focus on the faces around them that he still didn't know. "Obi wan tells us that Master Tano here, took down an entire legion of battle droids by herself. I imagine you'll be even stronger. We could definitely use that power everywhere."

            "Um, yes, I suppose so," he said, chewing on his lip. "Ahsoka is incredibly strong, she will be a great asset wherever you assign her."

            He glanced to the side to see her staring at him in disbelief. She gestured to the council like why aren't you saying no? He shrugged, and she pursed her lips and went back to staring at the holotable. 

            "We've identified two targets that need immediate attention," the dark-skinned male from the night before said. "Master Tano will go with Obi wan and I to Ryloth to free the planet from Separatist control. Master Skywalker, you will go with Master Mundi and Master Luminara to Geonosis. Our spies report that they've reopened their weapons factory and are putting out thousands of battle droids a day. At that rate, we'll never get the upper hand in this war."

            "Of course, master," he said. "Good plan. Take out their factories first and slow down production."

            "I'm glad you agree. For this mission, we'll give you your own legion of clones. The 501st, under captain Rex whom you’ve already met. I'm sure you'll find them up to the task."

            "With all due respect, masters, I would prefer not to take slaves into battle." He crossed his arms.

            "They're not slaves. They're good soldiers. And you're going to need backup. No matter how legendary your skills may be, the Geonosians are deadly."

            He took a deep breath. "I will take them if and only if, they are given the choice to fight and offered a viable option if they choose not to."

            "Very well, Skywalker. But I'm sure you'll find them plenty willing."

            "It's easy to be willing to fight when you're built for that and given no other options," Ahsoka huffed suddenly from where she stood next to him. 

            "She has a point," he agreed. 

            "It's not an ideal situation, we realize that. But we don't have any other options at the moment," Obi wan cut in. Always the negotiator, ready to smooth things over. As if that made it okay.

            "Well then, those of you that aren't knee deep in bodies, better be looking for better solutions while we're gone," he ordered, knowing he didn't really have the authority but trying to assert dominance anyways. If he didn't, what would happen? They'd continue on this destructive path until they were wiped out. Then it wouldn't matter how many victories him and Ahsoka brought them. "Be safe out there," he whispered to her as they got ready to go their separate ways.

            "Oh, so now you care about me?" she asked in annoyance, pulling away. "First you don't tell me you're going to disappear on me. Then you let them put us in separate rooms. A pretty face walks by and you completely forget I'm your wife, and now you're perfectly fine with them sending us in different directions? If I didn't know any better, Anakin, I'd think you wanted to get away from me. Well, enjoy your freedom, I have a planet to save." 

            She walked away leaving him staring after her. Of course, he didn't want to get away from her, but when she put it that way... well, he could see why she thought that. "Hey!" He ran to catch up with her. "I'm sorry! None of this is ideal, but they're right. We can do more good if we split up. It's not like we'll be apart forever." He tried to take her by the shoulders, but she stepped out of reach.

            "That's what it felt like when I thought you died, Anakin," she whispered. "But you're pretending like it's no big deal." She looked at him intensely. "Good luck on your mission." She kept walking. 

            He felt tears well in his eyes. Why didn't it occur to him how much it would hurt her? Well, that was because he'd never been very good at thinking it through. She had every right to be mad at him, he'd been a total jerk to her and then had thought he could smooth it over with a little sex. As soon as they got back from their missions, he was going to make it up to her.  _That's a promise, Snips._


	9. He's Glorious

            "Dooku," Sidious hissed from beneath his dark cloak. "The Jedi are almost to Geonosis with the Chosen One."

            "We're ready, master," he groveled at the foot of the holotransmission. "He won't win."

            "No, my old friend. He  _must_  win. I want the Jedi to believe they've found their savior. But don't make it easy on them. Thin out their ranks as much as possible. Send a probe droid to follow him the moment he sets foot on the planet, I want to see the way he fights. If he's everything I've read and more," he commanded. 

            "Yes, master," Dooku bowed before him and the transmission ended. He picked up his datapad and forwarded the Jedi's battle plan to his apprentice. Then he flipped back the hood of his robe and sat back, crossing his long fingers together. 

            He'd felt the disturbance the moment the Jedi had awoken him, as though the force itself had become his most trusted informant. That was why he'd sent that legion of droids to Tython. He'd hoped to have an early indicator of his power. But then there'd been something entirely unexpected. A Togruta female had also been awoken. For what purpose, he wasn't entirely sure, but she too was powerful; well versed in the ways of the old Jedi. The ones that walked the line between light and dark. The ones that with just the right trigger or motivator could be persuaded to turn. 

            She'd singlehandedly destroyed an entire legion of droids. She was a wild card, one he wasn't quite sure yet how to use. And the Jedi were being surprisingly tight lipped about who she was and how she was connected to the Chosen One. He'd been searching his available information for a few days trying to identify her, but there was nothing. The way she'd fought though, indicated she'd been well trained. Perhaps by the Chosen One himself. If that were the case, she could also be a valuable asset. Providing he could turn her too. He'd have to be careful how though. Holding his leash would be hard enough as it was, holding another with comparable power as well... it would be tricky. 

            It was only a matter of time before either of them felt the darkness that lurked beneath the Jedi temple. If they were as strong as he believed them to be, they would not be as blind as Yoda and his followers. Perhaps when they do, he could set a trap for them. One that would fill in all the missing pieces in his information; one that would determine how balanced they truly are. One that would tell him their strengths, but more importantly their weaknesses and how to best manipulate them to execute his plan.

            From everything he'd heard so far, they'd completely disrupted the Jedi order's calm and cool. Even going so far as to threatening them. Which was even better than he'd hoped for. Let them make enemies with the council, let the council fail to trust them, and the order will crumble without him even having to raise a finger. It wasn't as much fun to stay out of it though, to watch from afar. But it was exactly why he'd wanted them to wake him. They didn't know enough of their own history to have any idea just how badly the old Jedi ways would clash with the new ways. And here they think they're waking them to help them, when in reality, he will destroy them. It will be magnificent. 

            His datapad beeped that he was receiving an incoming transmission from the probe droid. Yes. It was time to see what he could do. He flipped the switch to connect it to his holodevice so he could watch the enlarged version of the battle play out. 

            There he was, signaling for his men to stay down. He could feel his power from here. 

            He leapt the cover. Short strides first, then longer, then longest. He gripped his lightsaber in his hand as he lunged out of the way of fire. He closed in on the pack as he raced towards the droids. Within range, he summoned the force and threw himself into the air. He landed hard, shaking the ground around him as he unleashed the force in all directions. Anything nearby fell to pieces. He was on his feet again, dodging and weaving through the blaster bolts. He jumped again, twirling in mid-air, so that when he landed he could sweep a slash through their ranks. He flipped backwards, sending electricity racing down his blade. He threw it forward through the line of droids. Any within range was electrocuted if they didn’t get sliced in half by the saber. He pulled it back to his hand, dodged a few bolts and deflected several others back at those that fired them. He flipped backwards a few times and then raced forward again, leaping and quaking the ground when he landed.

            He picked apart the legion as though it were nothing and then jumped from turret to turret to scale the seemingly impenetrable wall. He slid under the line of rolling droids, slicing them in half as he went between their legs right through their shields. Then he threw his saber back through the reinforcements that appeared. When all the droids in the vicinity laid broken at his feet, he drew on raw force power through his saber and jammed it down into the top of the wall, releasing enough energy to tear the structure apart.

            Sidious grinned from ear to ear. He was everything he'd hoped for and more. He was glorious. 


	10. Jedi Shadows

            She waited in the shipyard, eagerly looking forward to his return. She couldn’t wait to tell him about her mission and to hear about his. She wasn’t happy about how they’d left things, and she didn’t want to go through that again. He was the only connection she really had to the life she’d always known, but he was more than that to her and she hated when they fought. Hopefully their time apart had made him miss her too. Beyond being her husband and having once been her master, he was her best friend and whenever something happened, he was the only one she wanted to talk to.

            The cruiser landed, and people bustled about as tubes and hoses were hooked up, crates offloaded, and tired troops departed. She felt him coming and smiled in anticipation. It slowly faded as he came down the ramp laughing and smiling with the senator they’d met before. She tried to take a deep breath, but tears welled in her eyes. So much for him missing her. Of course he didn’t. She blinked them away. She wasn’t going to be that weak clingy wife that couldn’t handle her husband being friendly with others. She didn’t want to be the type to hold a grudge, but she also didn’t want to let him get away with just anything.

            “Hello, Sir,” Rex came up and saluted her. “Good to see you again.”

            “The feeling is mutual,” she smiled at him, tearing her attention away from Anakin. “I take it your mission was a success.”

            “It was. He’s quite impressive,” Rex said in admiration. “Not as impressive as you, but still impressive.”

            She smiled and looked down at her feet, appreciating the compliment. It felt nice for a change. Master Windu and Master Kenobi praised her battle skills, but it wasn’t quite the same. Rex’s stemmed from a sense that she was hurting pretty badly at the moment and he was trying to cheer her up. And she appreciated it. “Were there many casualties?” she asked concerned.

            “A good number, yes,” he replied sadly. “But not as many as there could have been. With you two helping us, I’m sure that will continue to be the case. Plenty of my brothers have already fallen, plenty more will before this war is over.”

            She looked at him and choked up. “You call the other clones ‘brothers?’”

            “Yeah, what else would we call them? We share the same blood, the same DNA, the same everything.”

            She set her hand on his shoulder not knowing what to say. Somehow that made it so much worse. They live and breathe a family tie that not even the Jedi understand or care about and have to face the loss of that family on a daily basis. And what do the Jedi do? They continue to order them into battles without any kind of compassion or sense, simply because they claim they have no other options.

            She swallowed hard, needing to find peace. “Could you do me a favor, Rex?” she asked softly.

            “Of course, sir,” he replied obediently.

            “Would you tell my husband that I’ll be in the temple gardens meditating? When he puts his eyes back in their sockets, that is,” she muttered the last part.

            He followed her gaze to where Anakin was still chatting with the senator as though he hadn’t even noticed she was there. Then he nodded at her with an understanding expression. She tried to fake a smile and turned to go.

            She sat down in the small courtyard near one of the fountains and crossed her legs. Desperately trying to push aside the overwhelming emotions that felt like they would swallow her whole. No wonder none of the Jedi in this time couldn’t function properly. She’d barely been here for a week and she already felt woefully unbalanced by everything. She needed to get a handle on herself or she wasn’t going to be very useful. Anakin seemed to be adjusting to everything just fine, her, not so much. 

            She pushed it all aside and fell into the force, reaching for calm and balance. She relaxed into the comfortable feeling, once again connected to the life force of the universe. She pushed her senses out, feeling around her. There was a wellspring of power potential here, but it felt decidedly muted. Good surfaced the strongest; light, peace, serenity. At least they weren’t completely lost. But as she fell deeper, she started feeling something else too. An echo of something, buried deep beneath the waves. It made her tingly and uncomfortable, lurking there as though it could jump out at any moment. She tried to remember her history from her Jedi training. The temple on Coruscant had been destroyed by the Sith over a millennium ago from this time, only ten or so years before her own time. She furrowed her brow. That’s how they’d discovered it had been built on top of an ancient Sith temple.

            Which meant that this one had been reconstructed on top of the ruins of the old one and likely the Sith one still sat beneath it. That wasn’t uncommon really. It was normal to build something good and light on top of something evil and dark. It was a method of purging the area of darkness and balancing it. She felt the energy tickle her skin and move up uncomfortably through her senses. But this darkness was fresh.

            She felt a presence join her and smiled softly. The little girl, she was back again. She patted her lap without opening her eyes and felt her sit down. She pulled her back against her chest and breathed her in. This girl was strong, very strong. She wasn’t exactly sure why she’d so captivated her attention, but she had. She felt strangely connected to her as though her repeated appearance meant something very important. Something she hadn’t quite figured out yet. They sat there for awhile in silence, the girl meditated with her as though she was already a master of the force. It surprised her and pleased her.

            “Well, I guess whenever I can’t find her I should just look for you.” She opened her eyes and looked up at the woman they’d met before, Taria Damsin. “She seems to have taken a liking to you.” Taria sat down next to her and sighed. 

            “So it would seem,” she replied, running her fingers through Helalin’s hair.

            “You know, I’ve worked with hundreds of younglings and I’ve never met one quite as elusive as this one,” Taria said conversationally.

            “Don’t you have Jedi shadows?” she asked in surprise.

            “What is a Jedi shadow?” Taria screwed up her pretty face in confusion.

            “Well first of all, that’s what she is,” she said thoughtfully. “Back in the old days, they were a sect of the order known as the consulars. Consulars were made up of Sages and Shadows. Sages were so strong they could often manipulate the world around them, using the very environment as a weapon. Rarely did they wield their lightsabers, as they didn’t need to. They could twist the force into lightning and waves of electricity. They were also strong healers and were versed in long distance fighting. A sage could easily wipe out a whole squadron of these battle droids with one well-placed spell. Shadows, on the other hand, they can obscure the force around them, essentially fading from sight and were strong in stealth and infiltration. They could do jobs that an entire army would flounder at, sneak into places and disable targets and equipment so the rest of us could bring down the facility.”

            “That’s very interesting,” Taria murmured. “We don’t have sages or shadows anymore. I wonder why. How you described a sage though, sounds an awful lot like the Sith. I’ve heard that count Dooku can summon force lightning. One of the abilities typically employed only by the dark side.”

            “Any force user, at least from my time, could summon force lightning if they so choose, sages were the experts of it though. They walked a fine line between what you consider the dark side and the light. But they understood balance better than most. Shadows carry a similar burden, to be able to taste the darkness and stay rooted in the light. Manipulating the force in such a manner takes serious mental strength. But a true Jedi knows how to balance themselves,” she explained.

            “I can’t imagine what that must be like. We’re taught to avoid things that lead us to the dark side. Strong emotions, attachments, need, fear,” Taria said.

            “But how do you simply avoid them? They’re all there. To push them aside and never learn to handle them, sets you up for failure. You can’t have one without the other. We all have light and dark inside us. Our choices are the only way to determine which side we’re on. A Sith is someone that lusts for power and control, so they abandon the light in favor of manipulation and experimentation of the force. A Jedi is one that seeks balance between the two and uses their power for good. To fear one side of yourself, is to lose sight of that balance. In balance, and only balance, there is true strength and peace.”

            “That is good advice,” Taria replied thoughtfully. “One not often heard around here. But if so many walked the line between light and dark, you must have had plenty fall?”

            “No,” she replied. “Some got manipulated of course, by false promises and rewards, sometimes even the search for knowledge. But very few turned Sith simply because the darkness won. Plenty of Sith turned back to the light though, something I’m quite proud of. We even managed to turn a few of the dark council back.”

            “Your world sounds so very different from ours, its making my head hurt just trying to imagine so many Sith running around,” Taria chuckled softly.

            “Well there were a lot more Jedi during my time too,” she said.

            “So, if little Helalin here is a shadow, how would one go about training her when we have no experience with such things?”

            Ahsoka ran her fingers through the girl’s hair again and smiled at her when she glanced up at her face. “Well, patience first. But give her purpose. For example.” She helped the girl to her feet and stood up. Then she pointed to a column on the far side of the courtyard. “Okay Helalin, see that column over there?” The girl nodded to her. “Can you get there without us seeing you?” The girl flashed a grin and Taria sucked in a breath when she vanished in front of them.

            “Oh my!” Taria exclaimed when she reappeared near the column. “I’ve never seen anything like that. I kept thinking her disappearing was just running off. I had no idea she was literally disappearing.” Ahsoka knelt down and beckoned for the girl to return to her. Again, she vanished and reappeared right in front of them a few seconds later. “That is going to take some getting used to.”

            “It can be disconcerting if you’re not expecting it,” she smiled, patting the little girl on the head. “Look how strong she is already. Give her outlets for it, encourage her to grow her range and trust her instincts. Be careful not to shame her or make her scared of what she can do. And make sure the other teachers do the same.”

            “I will certainly take that under advisement. Thank you,” Taria said, tipping her head to look at the little girl curiously. “I guess it will be a learning experience for both of us.”

            “It often is,” she chuckled. She looked up when she felt him. Anakin stood across the courtyard watching them. Taria and Helalin seemed to sense him too and both turned that way.

            “Well, we best be going,” Taria took the girl’s hand and excused them. She chewed on her lip as he approached wanting to be mad at him, but tired of being mad at the same time. At least her experience with the girl and her teacher gave her some sense of hope that the old order wasn’t lost. Though she suspected there had been more shadows and sages over the years, but likely their abilities had gone unrealized or was even squashed out because these new Jedi feared the darkness rather than taught them balance. Helalin being a shadow explained some of her feeling of connection to the girl though. It reminded her of home. A home that seemed to be slipping through her fingers.

            He stopped in front of her and she blinked up at him. “You made it back,” he teased.

            “Was there any doubt?” she asked indignantly, trying not to give in to him so easily.

            “None,” he said honestly. He reached out and touched her cheek and she closed her eyes. A tear escaped before she could stop it and she brushed it aside and turned away.

            “Did you have a good time with the senator?” She crossed her arms.

            “Not as much as I have with you.” She took a deep breath, fighting to stay above the waves.

            “There’s a Sith temple underneath us,” she ignored his comment and focused on business.

            “Yes, I recall they discovered one when the original temple was destroyed.”

            “It’s been activated recently,” she said. 

            “Do you think it’s one of these new Jedi?” he asked.

            “I doubt it, they fear the darkness too much to experiment. But now we know why they’ve lost their vision.”

            “Sounds like we need to investigate it,” he said, and she glanced at him.

            “Are you sure that’s a good idea? You know as well as I do how dangerous Sith temples are.” She crossed her arms.

            “As long as we’re together, we’ll be fine,” he said softly. Of course. As long as they’re together. But other than their brief time together on the ship back to Coruscant, they’d hardly been together again. Even that felt like it was fading now, like it had been a hazy daydream that hadn’t really happened.

            “Should we tell the council where we’re going?”

            “They won’t understand.”


	11. Memories

            They stood outside the lift for a moment that would take them into the Works sector of Coruscant, mentally preparing for the descent. The Works was a place long forgotten or unnoticed by any that didn’t have to be there. It was considered the true underbelly of the city planet. Through the narrow passageways full of heavy steam, deep underground, was the only way to get to ruins and remnants of something long forgotten. At least as far as they knew. If it had been activated recently, someone may have found an easier way to get underneath the Jedi temple. They passed only maintenance droids as they walked the corridors in silence. 

            “Are you alright, Snips?” he asked, taking her hand. 

            “I’ve been better,” she murmured, but didn’t pull away this time. The deeper they went, the more oppressive it got; the air itself got heavier as they followed the trail of darkness to the source. The Jedi truly believed putting one of their temples on top of a Sith one would purge the area, but all it ever really did was push the darkness deeper underground. Allowing it to take root and corrupt the soil. In the case of Coruscant, that had no natural soil, it snaked its way through the core of the planet, escaping through pipes and vents, infecting the very lifeblood of the world.

            The closer they got, the more painful it became. As though it could burn your senses as much as your skin. Him and Ahsoka understood it better than most. It could drive you mad if you let it. If the new Jedi feared the darkness as much as they appeared to, it was no wonder they’d become so blind. Too afraid to face it meant it blossomed unconfronted and unhindered in dark ashy flowers of death until opening wide and swallowing you whole. Nobody liked to face the darkness within, but if you didn’t… it got a million times worse. 

            She stopped about twenty minutes later and doubled over. He knelt down in front of her and pulled her into him. “You can do this,” he breathed as she buried her face in his chest. 

            “I’m fine,” she said stubbornly, but trembled anyways. She took a deep breath and took a moment to compose herself and then they continued down the path. 

            Another hour of walking, and they hit the dead end. Or so it appeared. He let go of her long enough to wipe the dust off the large black stone. He ran his hand across the carved letters. Scrawled across it in the ancient Sith tongue was a warning. He could feel the evil radiate from the stone beneath his fingers. This place felt alive, like the very walls could breathe. 

            “Are you ready?” he asked. She looked at him, jaw tight and nodded. Together they reached out their hands, pushing past the resistant darkness and seeking power. She breathed the words aloud and with a deafening rumble, the stone slid back into the darkness and to the side, so they could pass. 

            He took her hand again as they walked through the narrow passage; pausing only when the stone moved back into place, sealing their escape as though sealing their fate. Eventually the passage opened up into stairs and they started climbing, continuing to move purely on will alone. The darkness here was unlike anything he’d ever seen before. Well, that was  _if_  he could even see. Because he couldn’t see anything. It felt like every step forward got harder and harder to take; his feet, his muscles, his brain getting heavier with each step. 

            He squeezed her hand, seeking the comfort of her presence but only grasping air. "Ahsoka?" he asked in concern, looking around but seeing nothing. He retreated down the passage and steps, searching for her in the force but it was as if she'd completely vanished. How had she slipped right through his fingers? He raced back up the stairs, stumbling a little and catching himself on the wall. "Ahsoka?" he called again, trying to swallow the rising panic. Where was she? Was she okay? 

            Another long hallway opened into a large room. Huge black and gray monoliths towered around him. The room had an eerie blood red glow, with light gray peeking through as though there were no walls and it could go on forever out into the stars. In the center was an even larger black obelisk that seemed to be suspended there. Electricity crackled around it, illuminating the room but only serving to make it more oppressive and terrifying.

            Movement caught his eye and he looked down to the base of the monument. There she stood, her back to him. But something was off. He started running towards her but froze when she turned around. She was younger, seventeen or eighteen, maybe. When she’d been his padawan. Her features were drawn, the whites of her eyes bloodshot, the irises no longer blue but a dark amber gold. He sucked in a breath as memories flooded his brain. Memories he’d tried to forget.

            “Ahsoka?” he repeated her name, reaching for her. “What happened? What’s going on?”

            She curled her lips and then gave a malicious smile. “He told me you’d come for me. He offered me something I couldn’t refuse.”

            “Snap out of it, Ahsoka! This isn’t you!”

            “You don’t know what I am!” she screamed at him. His heart ached to hear the words again. To relive this day. “The force whispers that you’re some Chosen One, but you don’t know his power. You can’t kill us all. We are his children. His picked. Imbued with his power, lying dormant until he needs us. I’ve never felt so alive!” She brought her hands up and rubbed her face. “You!” She turned on him. “You held me back! I was meant for so much more!”

            “Listen to me, Ahsoka. Whatever he’s told you, he’s lying. We can’t trust him!” he exclaimed.

            “Nobody has ever trusted me. The order, the other Jedi, you. None of you care,” she spat.

            “That isn’t true, you know that.” He knelt down. “Fight him, please. I know you’re in there. The _real_ you. You’re stronger than him.”

            “You don’t know anything!” She leapt at him and he put up his lightsaber just in time. They danced around the room. She was more powerful than he’d ever seen her. So much energy burst forth from that tiny body, it took everything he had to stay on his feet. But he didn’t want to hurt her. He couldn’t. The council… they’d be so disappointed. She was the enemy, one of the Emperor’s chosen. One of the many hidden throughout their ranks being awoken across the galaxy. But she wasn’t the enemy. She was so much more than what the Emperor had done to her. He knew that. He just had to get her to believe it.

            She’d only been his padawan for a few years, but he trusted her with his life and now… now it was time to gamble it. He pushed her back with the force and knelt down, dropping his lightsaber.

            “Ahsoka,” he breathed, reaching out his light. “I know you’re in there.” She raced at him, her lightsabers ready to swing the death blow. “I love you.” He closed his eyes, but nothing ever hit him.

            “What?” she asked in surprise.

            “I love you,” he repeated, looking up at her face.

            “Do you really mean that?” she stammered, looking suddenly weak. He caught her when she fell.

            “With my whole heart,” he confirmed. There was an unnatural scream and he flinched as the sound pierced the entire place as though it could burst his ear drums. Her body convulsed in his arms and then fell limp. “My love.” He pulled her closer.

            The vision faded, and tears poured down his cheeks. “Are you forgetting me, Anakin?” she asked from somewhere, maybe everywhere.

            “Never,” he cried, dropping down on his hands and watching the tears bounce off the stone floor.

            “Then why did you leave me behind?”

            His heart clenched in his chest. “Because I thought I didn’t need you.” The pain of his admission rocked his body. “I was wrong.”

            “You promised me forever,” she said, fear rippled through her voice. “Then you left.”

            “I’m so sorry.” He dropped to the floor and curled into a fetal position. “I’m so sorry,” he repeated.

            “You were the only one that ever saw me.” Her voice sounded like it was getting closer. “You found me when I was lost. And I returned the favor. After that, you said if we stuck together, we’d survive. I believed you.” His lip trembled as the nightmares resurfaced of the long-ago time. The rush of darkness, the madness… so much death, so much blood. He brought his trembling fingers up in front of his face like they were still saturated in red.

            The council had told him to let her go. He hadn’t been able to. He’d torn the galaxy apart to find her, crossing the line and disappearing into the dark forest. He couldn’t turn her back, so he’d turned for her. And then somehow… they’d found something together that saved them both; _love_.

            “Then you were gone, and I thought… I thought I’d get lost… that I’d never be okay again.”

            “I’m sorry,” he repeated weakly.

            “You forgot, didn’t you? The promise we made each other.”

            “No, I didn’t,” he said stubbornly, struggling to pull himself together. This was just a trick. This was the temple messing with his head. Making him forget his wits.

            “Anakin…” her voice was barely a whisper of what it once was. He was on his feet in an instant, searching for her.

            “I’m right here, Ahsoka!” he called, feeling around blindly.

            “I feel like I’m fading.”

            “I won’t let you! We’ll get through this! _Together,_ ” he promised.

            “Together…” she trailed off.

            He tripped over something and crawled back to it. “Ahsoka.” He wrapped her in his arms. “I love you.” He rocked her. “I didn’t forget, I swear it. But I became blind. I was stupid. I let my big head get the best of me.”

            Her mouth twitched a little as she reached up her hand and touched his cheek. “You’ve always had a big head,” she smirked. “As long as I’ve known you, Skyguy.”

            “You’re probably right.”

            “I _am_ right!”

            “You _are_ right. You’re always right,” he admitted.

            She smiled. “About time you notice, you idiot.” She touched her fingers to his lips and then his neck and he leaned down to kiss her.

            “Can you ever forgive your idiot husband?”

            “Not today,” she said, grabbing his shirt and pulling herself up to kiss him again. “But maybe soon.”

            “That’s fair,” he muttered.


	12. Renewal

            “Do you think we should tell these Jedi we were once Sith?” she asked after they’d been laying side by side on the dark stone floor for a long time.

            “If they’re already hesitant to trust us, that would tip them over the edge,” he murmured, turning his head to study the side of her face. 

            “You’re probably right,” she admitted.

            “I thought we just established only you are right?” He rolled to the side to pull her closer.

            “When in question, I’m always right. But you get it right sometimes.” She cuddled into him. 

            “How diplomatic of you.”

            “I’m always diplomatic,” she laughed. “You should appreciate me more.”

            “Now who has a big head?” he smirked, nuzzling the side of her lekku. 

            “What nightmare did the temple give you?” she asked curiously.

            “It was a memory, of when I found out you were one of the Children of the Emperor,” he whispered. 

            She brought her hand up and brushed his hair out of his eyes. “You saved me.”

            “No, Ahsoka. As much as I want to take credit for that, I didn’t save you. You saved yourself.”

            “You gave me reason to.”

            “Why are you trying to give me credit?” he chuckled. 

            “Because without you…” She curled her lips. “Without you, I never would have found myself. You fought the darkness for me, when you could have easily abandoned me. That’s what anyone would have expected you to do. The council was already leery of me when they found out I’d been trained as a Sith for a few years before running away. So why didn’t you give up on me?”

            “Hmm… why didn’t I abandon my annoying padawan that liked to make my life a million times harder than it needed to be?” She pushed him playfully. “Probably because from the moment you came into my life, you made it better. You set me straight, you always knew what to do. The power I had could have easily corrupted me, but you kept me in check. You taught me how to balance myself, how to accept that darkness lives in us all and how to face it. And when you disappeared… I lost myself. That’s when I realized I  _needed_  you in my life. Then I saw what everyone else saw, the Sith that lived in you. And all I could do was shake my head, that wasn’t you. If you were truly Sith, you couldn’t have kept me on the right path, the  _light_  path. It was then that I knew, you needed me too. We needed each other. We balanced each other out. And if I let you go, if I gave up on you and walked away… nothing would save you, but nothing would save me either.”

            “Only in balance is there true strength and peace…” she murmured. “That’s what I told master Damsin earlier today. These new Jedi, they don’t understand balance. They’re afraid of the dark. They condemn anything that could be dark, including emotions and parts of themselves. If only they knew the truth. If only they knew the one they woke to save them from the Sith was once one of them.”

            “Their fear would kill them faster than I ever could.” He ran his fingers through his hair and sighed. “What nightmare did the temple give you?” he asked after awhile. 

            “The same one I’ve been having since I thought you died,” she whispered. “It couldn’t hurt me worse than I was already hurting.” He brushed his fingers along her markings and kissed her on the forehead.

            “Me leaving you, right?” he choked up feeling horrible again.

            “That’s part of it, yes. But it’s deeper than that.” She swallowed hard and closed her eyes.

            “Losing yourself too?”

            “Yes.” She trembled slightly. “Every time I’m forced to face my life without you, I see nothing but darkness. You’ve taught me how to be strong in the light, that’s not what scares me, you know? I know I’ll be okay most of the time. I know after everything, that he can’t control me anymore. The Emperor is dead, so is that part of me. I’m good, I’m a Jedi… but then I can’t help but think that someday, somehow, something could happen; maybe someone finds a way to grab that leash again and then what? You were the only one brave enough to go after me. The only one that cared enough. I’m afraid I won’t be able to stop myself if it happens again. I count on you for that.”

            "First of all, I don't think it's possible for that to happen again. You severed that tie when you turned your back on him. But even if it  _could_  happen, you don't need me to save you. You are strong enough to save yourself. You have the strongest will of anyone I've ever met; considering all the things you've suffered, there's nothing comparable to the way you stand so firmly in the light. You tell me all the time, the force isn't good or bad, it just is. So too, no one is inherently good or bad. It is only our choices that align us. And from the moment I met you, every choice you've made was for others, for good, for light. Even when you were terrified, your choices proved you were a Jedi." He ran a finger down the jagged stripes of her lekku. "What the Emperor did to you was awful, but even in his darkness you chose the light. You could have killed me that day, Ahsoka. I gambled my life. But you didn't. You beat him back because your will alone was stronger than his power."

            She pushed him back, so she could climb on top of him and he put his hands up. She weaved her long fingers in between his, studying them as though she'd never before appreciated the way their hands fit together. "Maybe I  _can_  save myself," she murmured after awhile. "But I like knowing that there's someone out there that will come looking for me if I can't. And maybe I like knowing that there's someone out there that needs me too."

            She looked up at him, her blue eyes deep and wild. He'd gotten attached to her pretty quickly after she was assigned to him. But it was when he found out what lurked inside, when he found out the truth, that was when he knew he loved her. Because that was when he found out just how far he'd go for her. Falling in love with your padawan wasn't exactly encouraged. In fact, relationships like marriage were typically discouraged. They didn't forbid them though, if you could prove you could keep a clear head in one, they'd turn a blind eye. 

            The old council never found out what happened to them. They never knew they  _both_  lost their way. All they saw was the way he returned with her like some kind of hero. It never sat well with him that they didn't appreciate the mental fortitude she had. Or even that she had saved him too. She was the true hero that day. But she took the fallout for him. She took it, because she never wanted him to lose his place in the order or them to know the truth. They granted her the rank of master much later on, but she would never be eligible to sit on the council. They gave her the title of fulcrum because she helped him kill the Sith Emperor. But in reality, so much of who she was went unappreciated and unnoticed. They gave him the title of Barsen'thor, believing that he was the one that should protect the order. She never complained. She never put up a fuss. She took it like she took everything else in life. And she supported him.

            So maybe he'd been given the duty of protecting the order, but she'd been given the duty of protecting him. Maybe it was a duty she created. Filling a position no one knew was necessary. He hadn't been able to give her the title she deserved, so he'd asked her to be his wife. He couldn't imagine his life without her. 

            They were married for four years before the council asked him to protect the future generations. Making the decision to leave her behind had been the hardest one he'd ever made. The council hadn't wanted her to go with. They still didn't trust her despite everything she'd done for them and for him. He'd thrown a fuss, he demanded she be brought along but they'd adamantly refused; they'd believed, quite stupidly, that a former Sith could not possibly protect the future of the Jedi. And he'd been this close to telling them that if that was the case, he shouldn't go either. 

            And then he'd thought he was being selfish. That even if she couldn't come there was a lot of good he could still do for the future generations. Living without her would be near unbearable but he would if he had to. He'd given in to the council's wishes. He'd believed that now that the emperor was dead, she'd be okay without him. And that maybe he didn't really need her as much as he thought. 

            Flash forward a thousand years... "I  _do_  need you," he said finally. "Even more than I ever imagined." He ran his thumb along the groove of her hands. "I'd ask you to marry me, but I already did that. Will you give me a second chance to prove I meant forever?"

            She chewed on her lip for a moment and then smiled softly. "Forever with a hiccup."

            "I'm sorry, Ahsoka. Truly. For everything."

            She leaned down, resting her head on his chest and he kissed the part of her face he could reach with his lips. "Anakin?" she breathed. 

            "Hmm?"

            "I'm cutting your daily allowed idiot moments in half."

            "But that's not fair!" he pretended to whine.

            "It's a just punishment," she laughed. 

            "I didn't even know I had a daily limit," he sighed.

            "I instituted the daily limit the second day as your padawan, I just never enforced it," she said matter of factly.

            "Thanks for the memo." He rolled his eyes.

            She crawled off him and got up, pulling him to his feet. "We'd better look around and see if we can find anything to report to the Jedi."

            He glanced around the large room. Now that the visions had cleared, it was far less intimidating. That was the way of the Sith temples. If you can see through their trickery and deception, they held very little power. He shuddered to think what kind of nightmares the modern Jedi would face down here. The darkness would probably drive them mad.


	13. Questions

            They explored the temple for awhile, finding doors to many different chambers that they couldn't get open. "Hey, Snips!" he called from somewhere down the corridor and she turned from the stubborn door she was fighting with to head his way. "Check it out." He pointed into another room. On a table in the center stood a pulsing red holocron. 

            "Perfect," she said, walking towards it. He followed her into the room. She waved her hand over it, feeling into the force, then she screwed up her face in confusion. "It's recent." She glanced at him and chewed on her lip. 

            "Not part of the original temple, I assume?" he asked, crossing his arms. 

            "No. It's been opened in the last couple days. I'd wager after we were awoken," she said.

            "Who all knows about us?" 

            "I'm not sure," she murmured. "Since they awoke me in the council chambers, I originally believed only they would know. But obviously some of the clones know, and many others in the temple by now. But if a Sith Lord lives and or operates here on Coruscant, which is likely considering the activity here in this temple, they'd probably be strong enough to sense our awakening. Especially if they've already blinded the Jedi considerably. The two of us combined, but you especially, would send a shockwave through the galaxy."

            "We disturbed the balance." He brought his hand up to stroke his chin for a moment. "I don't think the council thought about that when they hatched this plan."

            "Well, if it was already out of balance, we have an opportunity to equalize it, but I'm concerned that it might not work the way we hope. Fighting battles for the Republic is one thing, but if these new Jedi refuse to face their darkness... it's not going to end well even if we destroy the Sith again." She sat down on a stone block off to the side. 

            "I think we need to ask more questions," he said after awhile.

            "Exactly. I'm not going to go so far to say the Sith have it right, but I've been getting the strongest sense that we don't know enough about what's going on right now."

            "So where do we start?" He came over and squeezed her on the shoulder. 

            "I want to talk to this mysterious count Dooku," she murmured. "Master Damsin said something earlier that I found curious. You know that little girl that we met? Helalin? She's a shadow. But according to Taria, they've not seen a shadow for many years. As I was describing what they were along with sages, she told me that Count Dooku, whom I'm assuming is the leader of the separatists, sounded like a sage. But she couldn't be sure."

            "You think count Dooku used to be a Jedi?" he asked. 

            "Yes. I also think that many of these new Jedi have unrealized power. That perhaps they're turning because the new rules are forcing them to deny themselves. If they fear the darkness this much, I wouldn't be surprised if they completely eradicated the consulars or worse, conditioned their people to fear themselves and their power."

            "That's not good," he mumbled. 

            "But it also gives us an opportunity. Find the hidden consulars and bring them into their power. Not only would it help turn the war in their favor, it could be a key to unlocking change in the order. If the council is shown that darkness doesn't automatically corrupt, it might change their minds how they view it," she explained. "Which unfortunately might mean eventually, they'll need to know our past. We need them to trust us first. The only way to do that is to run missions for them. I'm afraid though, we're only prolonging the effort or bandaging the situation rather than fixing it."

            "Every path I can see means circumventing the council, which is going to be counterproductive if we want them to trust us," he commented.

            "Yes." She stared at the holocron. "That's a big problem. Perhaps we need to talk to your senator or the chancellor. It might not be within the Jedi's power to arrange a meeting or even grant permission to meet with him."

            "Snips." He put his arm around her and squeezed her to him. "She's not  _my_  senator. I was being friendly. And she just happened to need rescuing on our way back from Geonosis. However, I do think she might be a helpful resource for the current political situation."

            "Can you keep your eyeballs where they belong if we go talk to her?" she smirked at him.

            "I admit it, she's attractive and I can't help but notice that. But you're the only one for me." He kissed her on the cheek and she shook her head. 

            "At least you didn't box yourself into a corner this time, Skyguy. You almost lost one of your idiot allowances."

            "See? I'm learning," he laughed and pulled her into his arms. She giggled. 

            "You're lucky I love you as much as I do. But that doesn't mean you can get away with everything." She poked him on the nose and tried to stand up, but he pulled her back down onto his lap. He nuzzled into her neck, kissing her bare skin there. 

            "I'm glad you put up with me," he breathed, tickling her with his breath. She scrunched her shoulders and tried to wriggle out of his arms. After a moment he let her go and she stumbled forward, catching herself on the table with the holocron. She had the strongest urge to touch it, but resisted. He came up behind her and set his hand on her shoulder. "Leave it."

            "I wanted to touch it," she admitted. "But I know better. Even if we can open it for them, there's nothing in there that will help us. I'm certain it's a trap. It might even be what I was feeling from the courtyard."

            "The lure to bring us down here?"

            "Yes."

            "Well it worked," he said solemnly. "But even if the Sith Lord learned something about us, it also worked against them. By bringing us closer together."

            "Come on, we need to talk to the senator. I don't feel comfortable continuing helping the Jedi with this war until we talk to count Dooku first."


	14. Politics

            It took a long time to navigate their way out of the temple and back up to the surface, but they could finally breathe again. It was hard to say how much of Coruscant had changed since they’d seen it last. The planet had always been a crazy mess of activity for as long as he’d known. Some parts had been rebuilt, like the Jedi temple and as they landed in the Senate plaza, the political buildings were all different. Much of the upper crust of the planet was newer. Which was probably the most noticeable difference. As they built upon themselves, the planet would slowly start to increase in circumference. Someday, probably in the not too distant future, it would eventually outgrow its own atmosphere. At least if it continued to grow at this rate. 

            He didn’t hold a lot of love for the capital of the Republic. It was overcrowded, loud and endless at times. It had been worse to police and patrol, often losing entire sectors to hives of gangsters with delusions of power. Often from one district to the next were considerable contrasts, and anything more than ten levels below the surface were the unmentionables to the rich or the people in charge. He preferred the wilds of Tython where you only had to travel a short distance from the temple or the training grounds to find peaceful places to meditate or think. On the rare occasions him and Ahsoka were able to return there, they spent as much time exploring as possible. They probably knew more hidden secrets on that planet than any of the other Jedi of their time combined. To learn that the Jedi homeworld was nothing but ruins and mostly forgotten now… had been heartbreaking. 

            He pulled Ahsoka closer to him as they made their way through the Senate gardens to the entrance. There was so much he hadn’t considered when the council had insisted he freeze himself. He couldn’t even imagine facing all of this alone, it was too much for one person; chosen one or not. 

            “Ahsoka, I…” he started, but she had an unfocused look in her eyes as she stared past him at something he couldn’t see. 

            “Do you feel that?” she asked, blinking a few times and looking up at him. She seemed to have not even noticed he was going to say something to her. He paused for a moment, opening himself up to the force. 

            “Yes,” he murmured finally.  _The darkness._  Like they’d felt down in the temple. He glanced up at the grand building in front of them. It was strong here.

            “Should we follow it?”

            “No,” he said quickly. “If this is where the Sith lord is operating from, let them continue to believe no one suspects them. We’ll identify them in due time, for now, let’s focus on getting more information about Dooku.”

            She nodded absentmindedly. “I can’t believe these new Jedi can’t feel this. Surely they’ve been to the Senate building? It’s so strong.” She crossed her arms and shivered slightly. “Anakin,” she breathed. “I don’t like this. I know we’ve dealt with corrupt politicians in the past, but this feels like something else entirely.”

            He pulled her against him. “I don’t like it either. But we’re going to fix this.”  _I hope…_

            "If we get a chance too," she whispered. He didn't want to express his doubts out loud. He didn't want to say the words they were both thinking. It had never occurred to him that he'd be awoken at a time where power alone was not enough. He, like the old council, had believed the Jedi would never change. That reputation alone would be enough for the future generations to follow him or trust him. He'd never imagined he'd be awoken to feel so alone and unsupported by those that were supposed to be his allies. 

            "Ahsoka," he breathed, taking her face in his hand and leaning down to give her a kiss. She looked up at him confused by his sudden change. "I never thanked you for protecting me. Or for making sure you'd be here with me." His voice cracked a little. "I can imagine what it all felt like to you and I'm so sorry. That was never my intention, I swear it. But..." he couldn't say it. Thankfully he didn't have to. She put a finger to his lips. 

            She ran her hands through his hair and he leaned into her touch. "I'm scared too." He squeezed his eyes shut and rested his forehead against hers, trying to push the emotions away and steady himself. She was right, he really didn't appreciate her enough. She always knew what he was thinking or feeling. She always knew just what to say. She knew how lost he was without her and how badly he depended on her presence. She was the only one that understood him, and she was everything to him. They still had yet to uncover the depth of the threat, but it already felt like it was them against the universe. And he really hoped they were going to get through this in one piece. It was already testing him in ways he'd never thought possible and in all his power and courage, he'd never face a threat quite like this. Would the two of them be enough to stop it? He knew now, confirmed completely in the Sith temple, he wouldn't have been enough on his own. "As long as we're together, we'll survive. I believe that."

            He kissed her on the forehead and took her hand. They headed into the senate building, searching for senator Amidala's office. It took awhile and they finally had to ask for directions. The senate building was part of a massive complex that was difficult to navigate. They rang the buzzer when they finally found it. He squeezed Ahsoka's hand, smiling at her as they waited for the door to open. 

            He turned and saw Padmé standing there, elegantly dressed. She looked fantastic and he wanted to say so, but then he felt Ahsoka pinch the skin between his thumb and first finger and he glanced down at her in surprise. She held up her other hand and curled her thumb down. He gave her a shrug and the best innocent look he could manage but she rolled her eyes and turned her attention back to the senator.

            "Oh hello," Padmé said, her voice soft and pleasing to the ear. "I wasn't expecting you, but come on in."

            "Thank you, senator." Ahsoka nodded politely and let go of his hand to follow her into the room. The door closed behind him as Padmé pointed to several chairs in front of her desk. 

            "Have you met Senator Organa?" She gestured to a dark-haired man with a goatee. "He represents..."

            "Alderaan," he said without thinking. They both looked surprised but then nodded. "Organa is a name with a very long history. One of the noble houses that have long supported the Republic. For which we are grateful."

            The senator looked pleased at the praise and reached out his hand to shake theirs. "I've heard about the two of you." They introduced themselves to him. "Please, call me Bail."

            "What can we do for you?" Padmé asked after a moment, sitting back down behind her desk. "Bail and I were working on a bill we're planning to present tomorrow. But I'm sure that's not what you're here about."

            "We were wondering if you could help us understand the political situation of the current conflict," Ahsoka said, sitting down in one of the chairs and leaning her elbows on the armrests. 

            "We'd be happy to," Bail said and Anakin nodded to him, sitting down as well. 

            "I don't know much about what you being the chosen one to the Jedi is supposed to mean, but the council was praising your battle skills. I assume they were hoping you'd help them fight the droids and end the war," Padmé said but then trailed off. "I'm not sure I understand how knowing the politics will help you do that."

            He leaned forward, blushing slightly at the compliment that the council would talk about his skills. "We can fight, yes. And I believe that is why the council awoke us. But war is complicated. And in our day, we had to understand more than who to swing a lightsaber at."

            "I take it you have doubts as to what you're being asked to do?" Senator Organa asked. 

            "What he means," Ahsoka glanced at him. "Is to defeat an enemy, you have to know them. As I'm sure you can imagine, being awoken a thousand years later and asked to fight in a conflict you know nothing about is a bit, disconcerting."

            "The council didn't tell you?" Padmé asked in surprise. 

            "They did, but we still have questions we thought perhaps a politician could answer better," Ahsoka replied. He knew what she wasn't saying, and that was that they didn't trust this new council to give them all the facts. Or rather, neither of them believed these Jedi had all the facts either. 

            "Well then, ask away," Bail said pleasantly. 

            "The council told us that these Separatists seceded from the Republic and started the war. Can you tell us more about why they seceded or how the war started?" he asked the senators. 

            “About twelve years ago, my home planet of Naboo was invaded by the Trade Federation," Padmé started. "The Republic senate was so gridlocked by bureaucracy and legislation and refused to act. We managed to beat back the invasion without the Republic's help, but ultimately it showed the galaxy that the Senate had become entangled and corrupt. I put forth a vote of no confidence, and shortly after that a new Chancellor was elected. We worked tirelessly for the next ten years to remove the corruption and fix the failing democracy. But two years after the conflict on Naboo, Count Dooku stepped forward and publicly denounced the Republic, citing a massive list of things wrong with our senate. As you can imagine, tensions rose and more and more systems started losing faith in the Republic's ability to support them. Before long, planets and systems were looking to Dooku to fix the struggling system and the Confederacy of Independent Systems was born. All attempts to negotiate with the Separatists were met with rejection and hostility."

            “Let me guess,” he said leaning back against the seat. “Panic and paranoia rose within the Republic, the senate called for an army to protect themselves, and before you knew it, war?"

            “The senate put forth a bill to form the first ever centralized military. I openly opposed the Military Creation Act, believing that it would send the wrong signal and that democracy and negotiation should be the only course of action. Unfortunately, powerful people disagreed with me and there was an attempt on my life,” Padmé sighed. "In pursuit of the bounty hunter responsible, the Jedi learned of the clone troopers. They also uncovered a plot where major corporations agreed to secretly oppose the Republic while continuing to publicly support it. This was also where we learned the Separatists had been manufacturing millions of droids with intent to start a war." 

            He could hear the frustration in her tone. From what he’d learned of her so far, she was strongly against the war and continually put forth bills for peace and less military funding. He believed she meant well, but didn't fully understand the situation or rather, the psychology of what is happening to the galaxy.

            He glanced at his wife who appeared to be deep in thought over the information the Naboo senator had given them. "Could you tell me who Count Dooku is?" he asked after awhile. "We keep hearing the name go by, but never anything else. Other than of course, that he's the leader of these Separatists. He didn't come out of nowhere, right?"

            "From what I understand," Bail started. "He was a former member of your order. After denouncing the Jedi, he returned home to Serenno to reclaim his family title, status and wealth. Nobody heard anything from him for years before he took over the holonet with his rant about the Republic."

            So, he _had_ been a Jedi, just as Ahsoka had suspected. Now the bigger question was, if he went home to a cushy job and position, why would he suddenly decide to incite chaos?

            Ahsoka stood up and he looked at her in surprise. "Thank you, senators. You've been most helpful." She looked at him and tipped her head to the door ever so slightly. Something had connected for her that hadn't for him. And apparently, it was more important than finding out how to meet this mysterious count Dooku. He bowed to Bail and Padmé and followed Ahsoka out the door. He had a bad feeling about what she was about to tell him. 


	15. Holochess

            "Okay, Snips. What did I miss?" he asked the moment the door closed behind them. 

            "Not here." Ahsoka shook her head and took off at a good clip out of the building. He forgot how fast she was sometimes and he had to run to catch up. He tried to read her in the force, but she was hiding her emotions as though the walls themselves could feel them. Well, he supposed they could, if this was where the Sith Lord was. 

            He followed her deep into the city, she went down several levels, looking for something. Once they got through the newer build up, he started to recognize some of the area. They ducked into a familiar cantina, that he was amazed was even still here. After bartering for a back room, they slipped inside, locking the door behind them. 

            "Ahsoka?" he asked concerned when she sat hard on one of the couches and dropped her face in her hands. After she took a couple deep breaths, she looked up at him with her piercing eyes. 

            "The war is an illusion," she whispered. He knitted his brows and sat down next to her. She leaned into him. "It's a game. There's no winner; not the Republic, not the Separatists. It's all for show."

            "Why do you think that?"

            "Dooku," she breathed. "He left the Jedi order, right? He went home to Serenno. He inherited wealth, prestige, everything."

            "So?"

            "So why would he start a war? Why would he suddenly be so against the Republic? If I remember my history right, Serenno was an insanely rich world that helped out the Republic but resisted all authority. To the point that the Republic gave up trying to recruit them as an official member and pretty much left them to their own devices. If that's the case, what would motivate one of the leaders of a neutral world, unaffected by the Republic corruption, to suddenly get involved? To publicly denounce it in such a way? To list grievances that have nothing to do with them?"

            "You think someone convinced him to stir up trouble?"

            "Senator Amidala admitted she gave a vote of no confidence. The former chancellor was forced to step down. A new one took their place. Who stands the most to gain from a public outcry and mass hysteria?" she asked. 

            "You think the Chancellor is the Sith Lord?"

            "Think about it, Anakin. Use that big head of yours!"

            "An ambitious politician, who happens to be a Sith Lord, recruits a fallen Jedi to stir up the galaxy. As conflicts arise and panic ensues, the chancellor is given more and more power. A charismatic and prestigious man like the count, would easily sway troubled and unhappy planets to his cause. As the Republic divides, fear leads to demands for protection. Eventually tension breaks out in full scale war," he said thoughtfully.

            "If the Sith Lord controls both sides, picking and choosing which battles to be victories or defeats; he sets his pieces," she said. "And then..."

            "Checkmate."

            "Anakin... I don't think we can undo this," she said regretfully. "I don't think anyone can. The best we can hope for is minimizing the damage. Unless we can find every move the Chancellor has made, there's no hope in stopping it from happening. The wheels are already in motion."

            "Do you think the Chancellor knows about us?" he asked concerned. He struggled to swallow the growing lump in his throat.

            "If he didn't have a hand in the Jedi waking us up, he's probably sensed us by now and is desperately trying to figure out how to stop us. A man with that much power in a position of authority, that nobody suspects... he knows we won't be able to stop him. And likely, he's already taken into account our role in his game."

            "Which is?"

            "Based on what I know of Sith..." she murmured. She buried her face in his shirt. "What's more fun for them than destruction?"

            "Manipulation," he said without having to think about it. Their favorite game was to turn the enemy against itself.

            "He's going to try to turn us against the Jedi. Or vice versa."

            "It sounds like we have one move he'll never see coming," he whispered, feeling suddenly mischievous. "We join him."

            "Anakin..."

            "No, listen," he started. "If he thinks we're on his side, we gain access to every part of his plan. At this stage in the game, opposing him would be suicide. We join him, we find out what his checkmate is, and we prevent it from happening."

            "How many people are going to die while we play pretend?"

            "How many will die if we don't?" he countered. 

            "I don't like this," she whispered. "You know as well as I do how thin this line is."

            "I know it’s a thin line. But I also know that together, we're strong enough to do this. I'm counting on you, Ahsoka. You've broken free before, you can do it again."

            She closed her eyes, taking a few shallow breaths. He took her face in his hands. "Do you really think we can come back without help?"

            "Yes."

            She bit her lip and then slowly nodded. He could feel her fear. But just like every other time he'd felt it wafting off her, she could push it aside. She could stand tall and confident and act as though nothing riled her. He'd ways admired her composure, wishing he had it too. Yes, they were about to walk down a dangerous path. One that wasn't going to be pretty. One that was going to test them in every way, all the time. But it was their only chance to save the galaxy and the Republic. It was time to cross the line again. 


	16. Contingency Plan

            It was late when they made it back to the Jedi temple. Anakin went looking for the council or one of the council members to learn whatever he could about Count Dooku and why he left the order. She went looking for that little girl. To think that they were about to place their future, the future of the Jedi order and perhaps even the end of the war into the hands of a child… was probably completely insane. But as she’d told her husband, of everyone they’d met of these new Jedi, Helalin was their best chance. She was a Jedi shadow, whether taught to deny it or not, she’d already flirted with the darkness enough to learn how to stealth. She wandered the halls for awhile.

            “Helalin?” she breathed into the force, reaching out for her. “If you can feel this, please come to me.”

            She sat down in a hallway where there were no guardians. She crossed her legs and started meditating. Feeling for her. She looked up and smiled when she did. The girl stood at the end of the hall with a sheepish smile and then she vanished from sight and reappeared right in front of her. She pulled the girl into her lap and tickled her. She giggled happily and cuddled into her.

            “Helalin,” she murmured. “I need your help, but it won’t be easy.”

            “I can do it!” the girl exclaimed, and she smiled at her enthusiasm.

            She pulled the Sith holocron they’d retrieved before returning to the temple, out of her pack and handed it to the little girl. “Listen carefully, okay?” She glanced around to make sure they were still alone and then she pointed to it. “Hide this somewhere only you know where it is. Make sure no one knows you have it. When the time is right, take it to the Jedi council and open it for them. The force will tell you when. Can you do that?”

            Helalin looked it over in her hands and then back at her face. She nodded that she understood. “Yes.”

            “Good girl,” Ahsoka said, patting her gently on the cheek. “We’re counting on you. Now go hide it before anybody finds out.”

            Helalin climbed off her lap and then disappeared in the force. She stared at the spot where she’d been and took a deep breath. Only a consular at this stage in the game, could truly help them. Inside that holocron was a message for the Jedi council. One they couldn’t know until the right time. Until then, her and Anakin had to look like the enemy; that they too had turned to the dark side. Everyone would believe it, and that was regrettable, but necessary.

            Tomorrow they were going deep into enemy territory to find Dooku and to the others, it would look like they weren’t coming back. _There is no dark side or light side, there is only the force. It is only your choices that determine what side you affiliate with._ Jedi or Sith. Good or bad. Black or white. That’s how most people saw the world. But having tasted both sides, having known both extremes and nearly everything in between… nothing was black and white to her. Only a spectrum of grays.

            That’s what made her and Anakin as powerful as they were, knowing that gray area. Knowing that there’s bad people on both sides and good people on both sides. In the end, they’re all on the same side. Both sides will suffer for victory or defeat. Both sides will gain and both sides will lose. And even though as Jedi they were sworn to the service of the Republic, it was also their duty to ensure that the Republic was operating correctly and not a hot bed of corruption. And sometimes... that meant weeding it out from the opposite end of the spectrum.

            If count Dooku had become disillusioned with the Jedi order and left, he wasn’t the only one. But a true Jedi, especially a consular like she suspected him to be, would feel the pull to root out the problems in the order and help balance it out again. The trick would be learning his motivation and methods of doing so. Consulars weren’t automatically good people, nor did they always go about balancing things the right way, so the hope was that they could offer him support in fixing it the right way. Restoring him, the others and the rest of the force to balance. The chancellor, on the other hand, might be too far lost to save. But they’d sure try to first.

            She got to her feet and headed to the room they’d given to Anakin to wait for him to return. Regardless of their rules, she was going to spend the night with her husband. They’d have all the freedom in the world to spend together as Sith, but tonight was special. Their last night in the light for awhile and the slow burn into the darkness.

            He entered an hour or so later. She could tell before he said a word that he was angry. He glanced at her, his eyes burning in the dim light and she reached for him, pulling him down onto the bed. She climbed onto his lap and ran her fingers through his hair, kissing him deeply. His fingers tightened on her waist and she bit his bottom lip. She pushed him down and moved along his jaw and his neck with her lips and teeth. He groaned when she bit his neck and then his shoulder, grabbing at her. She sat up and he pulled his shirt off over his head and ran his greedy hands all over her.

            They moved hot and heavy into the night, taking their frustration out on each other, awakening the madness. They tried to be as quiet as possible, knowing the walls had ears in a place like this.

            In the early hours of the morning, they slipped out of the temple. The passion still raging inside them, they stole a ship from the hanger and sped away from Coruscant. Once in hyperspace, he disabled the tracker and destroyed the communicator the Jedi had given them. It was time to stir up trouble.


	17. The Arena of Death

            They landed in the Deucalon Spaceport on Nar Shaddaa. As they strolled their way through, he took notes on anything noticeably different, mentally prepping for what they were about to do. He didn’t love this plan. After tasting the madness before, he’d never wanted to again. But just like he’d told his wife, the only way to stop what was already in motion was to outplay the Sith at their own game. They could hop from one battle to the next helping the Jedi and the Republic win the war and still be undermined like the rest of them, or they could get to the bottom of it. Unfortunately, getting to the bottom of it meant sacrificing innocent lives to protect the majority. They would do their best to restrain whenever possible, but to truly convince this mysterious Sith they were on his side, they would have to spill blood. He would need to feel the anger and hatred and death that brought the darkness and evil to life inside people. 

            And he  _was_  angry. He was angry at these new Jedi and their ignorance and lack of foresight. Angry that he’d been awoken to be used to fix their own mistakes. Angry at the state of affairs and all the death and loss that had occurred while they sat in their fancy temple and turned their backs on the world. He had not fought the Sith as hard as he had in his time so that the Jedi order could ruin themselves. 

            Ahsoka would struggle bringing anger forward. She was snippy and had an attitude, but she very, very rarely got angry. Her darkness would blossom in a different way, a much colder more calculated way. She controlled her emotions so much better than him, so hers will appear less in anger and more in hatred. She would kill because she has to, letting her predatory hunter instincts surface. She will stop restraining, and she will be terrifying.

            He would never be able to forget the darkness he’d seen in her. It still gave him chills. Even the Chosen One could have died by her hands. If only the Chancellor knew just how intimidating she could be, he wouldn’t even bother trying to ensnare him; he should put his wager on Ahsoka for sure. But because she was calculated, she didn’t blindly follow. The only reason the Emperor had controlled her when she was eighteen was because she hadn’t thought she could break free. The moment she realized she could, he lost all control over her. 

            She feared losing herself, but he had no doubt she’d remain the sanest one of both of them through this. She gave her all to anything she believed in, and if she believed this was the only way, she would be so convincing at it she’d even fool him, and _he_ was aware of the plan. 

            They stopped on the taxi pad looking over the destination map. “Shadow town or the Nikto sector?” she asked him. 

            “Let’s start in the Nikto sector, assuming they still run the place,” he replied. 

            She nodded thoughtfully and directed the cab there. After a short ride through the tall square buildings and blinding neon lights, they departed the taxi after it pulled up to a jutting platform. She brought her hand up to cover her nose and he was grateful he didn’t have the Togruta sense of smell.

            It was nice to know that there were some things that hardly changed in a thousand years. This sector of Nar Shaddaa was unkempt. The Hutts had practically given up controlling the gangsters that congregated here. As long as they served them, they allowed them to do what they wished. Allowing it to become loud, filthy and out of control. Not that the rest of the planet wasn’t like that either. Here though, was the source. If the Kintan Kings still ran the streets, they’d found the perfect place to look for challengers. 

            They got a few funny looks and plenty of whispers behind their backs, but no one approached them yet. Likely they were waiting to see what their intentions were. They slipped inside the first cantina and headed straight to the bar. The music was obnoxious, and people were shouting to be heard over it; all different languages but mainly huttese. 

            “What brings two Jedi to our neighborhood?” the green Nikto bartender came over to them. He’d felt the closest patrons stop what they were doing to eavesdrop. 

            “We’re looking for a little fun,” he replied casually and ordered two drinks. “Know any challengers interested in fighting Jedi?”

            “Oh sure, sure,” the bartender replied, dropping two glasses in front of them and filling them with a sludgy red liquid. “We don’t do that kind of thing here.”

            He knocked back the shot and wiped his mouth, slamming the glass down in front of him. “That’s too bad,” he said a little louder. “I’m itching for a fight.” Ahsoka drank her glass too and dropped it on the counter. 

            “Come on, hun. I sense only cowards here,” she scoffed. 

            “I guess we’ll move along then.” They started heading for the door. 

            “Hey, you gotta pay for those drinks,” the bartender called after them. He turned around and grinned maliciously.

            “Make us.”

            Nobody took his challenge. He wasn’t surprised. If they had met Jedi in the past, they were afraid of facing their wrath. The Hutts would be harsh on them for starting something with the Republic. No, this was all just for show. Soon enough, they’d have challengers. They wouldn’t openly oppose them, but they’d try to take them out when no one was looking.  He grabbed Ahsoka around the waist and kissed her hard. “You were right, nothing but cowards here. Let’s try a different cantina.”

            She hung on him and smiled mischievously. “Aww babe, don’t worry. We’ll find a challenge for you.” She squeezed his butt and they moved arm and arm out of the club. They walked deeper into the maze of broken down buildings and graffiti laden walls, shuttered shops and refuse lined streets. 

            It wasn’t long before he became aware of people following them, but they kept going as though oblivious. He could tell Ahsoka had sensed them too, he’d felt the change in her. Even as she laughed and pretended to carry on the conversation, she’d tensed. Her eyes had narrowed and darkened, her head tilted in alert, lulls fell in their jokes so she could listen, and her nose twitched just enough to inhale their surroundings. When the attack came, he’d let her take the lead. 

            They turned down an alley and he pulled her into his arms as though they’d sought privacy to make out. Her hands were all over him and it took all his self-control to not give into her right then. All at once she threw him back and whipped out her lightsabers. She ducked under the blasts, running low to the ground. She twirled to dodge the other one and came up between them, a lightsaber in each of their chests. She spun them in her hands and stared down the other five people watching with their blasters raised. 

            “Come on, guys, that all you got?” she taunted. He smiled to himself from where he was still sitting on the ground. He knew he shouldn’t be enjoying this, but he was. He loved to watch her fight. Everyone they faced underestimated her and paid for it. Her moves were graceful and hypnotic. He also had pride in her abilities and he silently cheered her on as she charged the group of Nikto that all towered over her, probably triple her size. But she would never back down, which was one of the things he admired most about her. 

            She beheaded one as he ducked under her first slash, then she cut off the arm of another. Kicked the third one in the gut and twirled over the back of the other. The fifth one started running and she threw one of her sabers after him. She finished off two of the three that were near her and loomed over the last one as they tried to crawl away with only one arm. 

            “Please, don’t kill me!” he begged. 

            “You’re no fun,” she grinned evilly. 

            “I thought Jedi didn’t kill helpless people,” he cowered when he hit the wall. 

            “You weren’t so helpless when you were pointing a blaster at my head,” she replied simply. “But you’re in luck, I need information more than I need your blood. I want to challenge some bounty hunters to a duel. Where is the arena?”

            “I don’t know!” he groveled at her feet and she brought her lightsaber to his throat.

            “Then you’re no longer useful.”

            “Okay, okay! There’s a group of Mandalorians in Shadow Town. They call themselves the Red Skulls. They hold the arena. They won’t be happy about two Jedi crashing their party though,” the Nikto said. 

            “Good,” she said and then twirled her lightsaber and stabbed it down through the gangster. He gasped and then fell silent. 

            He made his way to her. “Nice work,” he murmured as he looked around at the death around them. 

            “Child’s play,” she said. Her eyes flashed gold for a moment. “Not even a warmup.”

            “You’re terrifying sometimes, you know that right?” He pulled her closer and kissed her deeply. 

            “How else would I keep you on your toes?” she teased.

            “Oh I can think of a few ways,” he murmured. 

            She threw her head back and laughed. “Later. It’s time to find the arena.”

            “I’ll hold you to that.”

 

\---

 

            “Leave peacefully or die,” several Mandalorian warriors landed with their rocket packs in front of them once they descended to the lower levels of Shadow Town.

            “I’d say I don’t want a fight, but that’s exactly what I want,” Anakin said, twirling his lightsaber in his hand. “Rumor has it, you guys are in charge of the arena.”

            “What’s it to you?” the male on the left asked. “Jedi law has no power here.”

            “I want in,” he said simply.

            “In?”

            “Yeah, as in, I want to enter as a challenger.” He glanced at her and rolled his eyes. She laughed.

            “Since when do Jedi fight in the arena of death?”

            “First of all, you assumed we were Jedi, which might just be the last assumption you ever make. Secondly, since today.” She watched him reach into the force, cringing a little as she felt him twist it before igniting his lightsaber. The blade burst out a bright, blood colored red.

            “If you’re not Jedi, what are you?” the woman on the right asked.

            “Doom.”

            “Right, so scary,” the man said. “Just so you know, the Red Skulls don’t care if you’re Jedi. If you walk into the arena, you will be fighting for your life. Many Jedi have fallen to our gang. You’re nothing special.”

            “Thanks for the warning,” he smirked. “I look forward to the challenge. That is, if it ends up being a challenge.”

            The two Mandalorians exchanged glances and then shrugged, gesturing for them to follow. They led them deep into the inner sanctum of Shadow town, a place that used to be a prison for the worst criminals around. Which was saying something, because everybody on Nar Shaddaa was a criminal, so you had to be pretty bad to be sent here. There were no signs that it was still being used as a jail, which probably meant like the Nikto sector, anybody brave enough to take residence here were the only ones you’d find. Gangsters, thugs, rogue bounty hunters, you name it.

            She could feel the echoes of death as they descended underground. This place was steeped in violence. Which made it the perfect feeding ground for darkness and corruption. In the pain and gore of the arena, they will face only those prepared to die. No need to worry about losing mercy just yet. That would come in time. For now, it was time to soak their hands in blood. The slow move was far more painful than going all in. They could have gone anywhere and slaughtered people, but since the goal was to outplay the Sith at their own game, they had to do it carefully. It was much like tiptoeing into water because it was cold, rather than diving right in.

            She’d already bloodied her hands tonight; the arena would be his. He had the passion to fall into it too fast, so she needed to restrain herself as long as possible to make sure he didn’t lose himself completely before she fell in too.

            “Knock them dead,” she whispered.

            “That’s the plan.” He gave her a salute and she rolled her eyes. She found a spot against the railing to watch while he entered the arena. The first contender was a young Mandalorian hotshot. He didn’t even last a minute. Three gigantic Nikto came forward to challenge him. They lasted a little longer than the first one, but only by maybe a minute or two. As the battles wore on, she could feel his hunger awakening. He was falling deeper and deeper, his blade red, his eyes golden. He was enjoying this and strangely, so was she. She celebrated every victory like a savage spectator, licking her lips as though she could taste the blood from where she stood. She felt driven to join him in the arena, but she managed to restrain.

            “Hey hot stuff,” some Rhodian squeezed in next to her, reaching to grab her and she caught his wrist.

            “You don’t want to do that,” she warned.

            “Oh come on, baby. I could offer you nirvana for a night.” He shook his body like he was showing off something.

            “See that man down there in the arena, killing all the contestants?” She grabbed his face and turned it to look. “That’s my husband. Now get lost.”

            “He wouldn’t have to know,” the Rhodian persisted.

            “You have a death wish. Scram, or I’ll kill you myself.”

            “I like ‘em rough,” he said, and she rolled her eyes at him, attempting to ignore him.

            She turned back to watch as doors on the far side of the arena opened. The whole building trembled as the footsteps started. Out walked a rancor, stomped both feet on the ground and roared. The rest of the spectators covered their ears and cheered. The Rhodian moved up against her and grabbed her butt. She spun on him, lightsaber out and jabbed it straight through his chest.

            “I warned you,” she growled. No one even cared when he fell to the ground and she shrugged and turned back to watch Anakin. He was darting around the rancor’s feet, staying just ahead of his swings. He was making it mad, but he was moving like he’d hardly broken a sweat with the dozens of people he’d already killed. He leapt up onto its back and it tried to swat him off, roaring in annoyance. He held on with one hand while he sent electricity down his blade. Then he jumped over its head, flipped and turned, throwing the saber straight at its neck. It severed its head and the residual electricity, raced down its body and panned out on the ground in a ripple. He pulled the lightsaber back to his hand and leapt up to the railing where she was standing. He dangled off it and she leaned forward to meet his lips. Savoring the rush of blood she felt through him. The dark energy radiated off him and sent a tingling sensation down her spine. The madness had begun.


	18. Count Dooku

            It took a little over two days to get from Nar Shaddaa to the outer rim territory of Serenno. And that was even with Anakin upgrading the hyperdrive and the engines. For as long as they’d been asleep, she expected the technology to be far more advanced by now, but instead, it felt almost primitive. 

            Serenno was heavily blockaded by likely, the best warships the Separatists had. It was a good thing they weren’t here to fight.  _Yet_. Powerful though they both may be with lightsabers and the force, they were still limited by the technology of their ship. And it was a pathetic junker that served as a poor excuse for a freighter. She nodded to her husband and flipped the switch to hail the enemy blockade. 

            “I am Anakin Skywalker and this is my wife, Ahsoka Tano. We’re here to speak to Count Dooku about joining the Separatist cause,” he said confidently.

            “Standby,” came the metallic voice of a battle droid. They sat back and twiddled their thumbs. Surely the count had heard of them by now, but he’d understandably be cautious. They’d been banking on the likelihood that his Sith master would expect them to team up.

            After the bloodshed on Nar Shaddaa, they were adequately dark enough to go face to face with Dooku. Echoes of death resonated in their energy. His eyes were golden, his lightsaber red. She hadn’t turned that far, just yet, but she’d been allowing her past hatred and Sith training to surface, so it was detectable. After all, at least in their time, Sith corruption wasn’t always physically obvious. Anakin had the passion and anger for it to surface more easily. Hers would be more subtle until she completely gave in. But the darkness surrounding them both was obvious. And likely Dooku and his master had already heard about their rampage on the Hutt world. 

            “Count Dooku has agreed to a meeting. A shuttle has been dispatched to escort you,” the droid returned. 

            “Copy that,” Anakin replied and clicked off the transmission. “You ready, Snips?” he asked.

            “Yes,” she said simply. 

            “I hope he’ll demand a demonstration, I need to blow off some steam,” he laughed and got up. She faked a smile at his back. Seeing his darkness and hunger again hurt, despite how careful and calculated they were trying to be. She hadn’t told him the nightmares had started up again. He was counting on her to be strong through this; entrusting his life and sanity in her hands. She wouldn’t let him down.  _She hoped._  

            She got up and followed him towards the airlock where they met up with Tayis and Jalk. The brother and sister pair that had run the Red Skulls on Nar Shaddaa. After the arena of death, Tayis had approached them, insisting that he and his sister wanted to join them. Jalk was a fiery redhead with the mouth of a pirate. Tayis was her older brother, but he was quieter and more reserved. They challenged the two of them to a duel to prove their skills. They’d given them quite the fight. For Mandalorians who lived and breathed violence, they far outmatched any of the contenders Anakin had fought in the arena. 

            The siblings had invited them to the headquarters of the Red Skulls once the arena had dispersed. Over a feast, they talked a lot about the war. And when they found out their next objective was to meet with Count Dooku, they’d wanted to come. Though she appreciated their skills and what they had to offer, she really didn’t want to give Dooku more weapons in his arsenal. And since they couldn’t let anyone know their true intentions, that was exactly what they were doing. 

            The ship shuddered as the shuttle docked with it and the airlock opened. Four droids marched forward of unfamiliar design. They were heavily armored, but lightweight. Designed most likely for far more intricate and hand-to-hand combat. Each of them wore a strange white cloak off their right shoulder with blue markings. It went up and over their head but left a crown of metal visible. They had bright red eyes and a large red button about midpoint on their chests. And each of them carried fancy electrostaves with purple lightning crackling from each end. They were wicked looking, and if she had to guess, they were specially designed to fight Jedi. 

            “Count Dooku is awaiting your arrival,” one of them said and the front two parted so they could pass onto their shuttle. The four of them walked between the droids and once situated, the shuttle departed and headed towards the blockade. Undoubtedly taking their ship with it. They just didn’t want them in control of their own ship. Which made sense, you could never be too careful during a war. She found it odd that none of them had been disarmed, so likely Dooku was wanting to feel them out first before determining how much of a threat they were. She’d be surprised if he actually met them face to face this first time. 

            The ride to one of the cruisers passed in silence. More droids greeted them in the hanger along with a tall thin woman with light purple skin and heavier purple robes. A Dathomirian, a nightsister. Dooku was brave to trust them. Their loyalty was to no one but each other. “So, you’re the Chosen One?” She looked Anakin over. “You don’t look like much.”

            “Care to meet my blade first, before you make assumptions?” He pulled his lightsaber to his hand. 

            The Nightsister waved her hand dismissively. “I’m sure there will be plenty of time for that. Follow me.” She turned and started walking to the left and Anakin growled under his breath. 

            She shook her head not even bothering to tell her husband to get a grip. It wouldn’t work anyways. Her main job besides uncovering the plot to destroy the Republic was to make sure he didn’t get himself killed. So, she’d intervene only when he went too far, otherwise his hotheaded act would help convince everyone they really were Sith. She followed the woman in silence, taking in the cruiser and its arsenal as they were led through it. Each one came equipped with thousands more droids than the Republic cruisers had clones. Droids were more compact, lighter and you didn’t have to keep them alive. Which gave the Separatists an obvious advantage. The only thing that could stunt their numbers was lack of money, resources or factories. But from what she understood, some of the wealthiest planets had joined the Confederacy. Along with plenty that had the resources to make countless droids. With that output, it would be nearly impossible to slow them down, the Republic would easily be overwhelmed. And if the Chancellor was the Sith Lord, that was exactly what he wanted. 

            They were led to a large conference room on the flagship and to her surprise, Dooku did meet them in person. He had cold, intelligent and experienced eyes. And for some reason seeing him sent her straight into her memories. Suddenly she was twelve years old again, cowering before one of her masters at the Sith academy. Her hands curled into a fist and she tried to temper her rising hatred in order to stay above the raging tide. If there was any doubt they weren’t what they claimed to be, it had been suddenly snuffed out. Not even Dooku would be able to see through the cloud of darkness that had suddenly enveloped her. 

            Anakin reached out to put his arm around her and it took all the self-restraint she had left to not lash out at him. The memories of torture far fresher than she cared to admit to anyone, even him. Though he of all people, would understand since he’d had to deal with the trauma that made her hate being touched firsthand, and especially after they took their relationship further. He on the other hand, communicated mostly through touch and it had been very difficult to work up to being comfortable with that. She still remembered the first time he’d hugged her and how close she’d come to stabbing her lightsaber through him. That had been a very dark day in their relationship.

            Dooku studied the four of them as though only mildly interested, but she felt his underlying doubts and caution.  _Interesting_. He was willing to listen to his master but did not trust his judgement. She felt something odd from him when he rested his eyes on the two Mandalorians that had accompanied them. It had struck her, because it was unexpected. A former Jedi turned Sith felt compassion for the violent people and way of life of Mandalore? It wasn’t admiration for their bloodlust like she’d expected, rather a softness and mourning, as though he had a long friendship or history with one of the clans. Likely something that stemmed from a time after renouncing the Jedi order. And based on the strong emotions it provoked that he’d hidden behind his expressionless stare, it may even be why he left the order to begin with. The tide of hatred recessed somewhat as she tipped her head in curiosity, she was suddenly grateful the two Red Skulls had come along.

            Count Dooku was nothing like she’d expected. Maybe she’d assumed he’d be a young hotheaded idealistic man, ready to blindly follow a powerful master that promised him far greater things than the Jedi ever could. But in fact, he was quite the opposite. He was calm and calculated. An older gentleman that carried confidence and life experience on his shoulders. His white bearded face was stern but not completely unkind. And he certainly held himself like a man accustom to wealth and finery. Not snobbery so much as he exuded the prestige and position he was meant to hold. Which made her wonder how he’d ever survived as a Jedi; a life so completely opposite of his birthright. 

            “So, you’re Anakin Skywalker, the Chosen One. I’ve already heard plenty about your skills,” Dooku said after a few minutes of studying them. 

            “Can we skip the pleasantries? I need to sink my teeth into something.” Anakin sat down and crossed his arms. 

            “And you’ll have plenty of fodder in time,” Dooku said coldly. “But first, why do you wish to join our cause?”

            “Are you kidding me?” Anakin leaned forward and put his hands on the table in front of him. “I was part of the Republic for what was it, hun? Ten days? And I can already see what a hopeless cause it is. The leadership is corrupt, the senate useless. They build people to fight their wars afraid to get their hands dirty and the Jedi order? Pathetic and blind.” 

            Dooku watched him for a moment and then looked up at her, meeting her gaze. “And you agree?”

            “We were not put to sleep for a thousand years to protect an order that has fallen this far,” she said quietly. “The only course of action is to clean the slate.” She tightened her knuckles on the back of Anakin’s chair. 

            Count Dooku sat back, stroking his beard thoughtfully. “Curious.” That was all he said for a moment. “My master said you two wrestled with a very different world in your time, but I would have expected you to do more to fix the Jedi order before giving up on them.”

            “There is no way to fix it,” Anakin said in annoyance. “They woke us up expecting us to fix their problems, but then they won’t listen to a word we say.” He pounded his fist on the table. “They’ve become complacent. Too set in their ways. The only hope we have at saving them is to dispel the leadership and unlock the potential of the rest of the order. Master Yoda is overdue for retirement.”

            She felt something at Anakin’s words. He was baiting Dooku to reveal his true feelings about the situation. Supposedly Yoda had been his Jedi master and based on the way he had clenched at his name, his frustration with the order was rooted in that. “Master Yoda holds the entire order down. He is blind but claims to know all. The rest of the council is too foolish to stand up to him, trusting him to lead them wherever they need to go. If the order were freed from him and put under more capable leadership, it could once again thrive like it had in your time; a true army of powerful beings.”

            “I take it, you are the more capable leadership?” she asked.

            “I don’t pretend to know everything, but the order’s biggest failing is that they don’t ask questions. They are pointed in a direction and that’s where they go. They’re pointed to a target and that’s what they kill. They never wonder if they _should_ do that or not. As long as someone appeals to their values or compassion or protecting the innocent, they will happily oblige to slaughter for it.” Dooku tensed and she studied him. Then she glanced to the side to see Tayis shift as though he wished to speak. 

            “Have you met Tayis and his sister, Jalk? They run the Red Skulls on Nar Shaddaa,” she introduced them.

            They both removed their helmets and nodded politely. “When Anakin and Ahsoka told us they were coming here to meet with you, we asked to accompany them,” Tayis started. “Our parents were slaughtered by the Jedi on the moon of Bogden. Jango Fett rescued us and took us to safety. We owe him our lives. We heard he too was killed by Jedi on Geonosis and we wish to avenge his death.”

            “Fett was a very good friend of mine,” Dooku replied. “His army will be the ultimate revenge on the Jedi. But if you wish to help his cause, the Separatists would be glad to have you.”  _His army will be the ultimate revenge on the Jedi?_  She mulled over Dooku’s words. Mandalorians didn’t fight with droids, it was a matter of honor to bloody your own hands in battle. What army could he be talking about? Dooku stood up. “Come, my master wishes to speak with you. Ventress, show Tayis and Jalk around.” The nightsister bowed and beckoned the Mandalorians to follow her out of the room. 

            Her and Anakin followed Dooku into a smaller, darker room. In the center was a large holotable. He stepped forward and typed a few code sequences onto the control panel, then kneeled before it. A hologram of a cloaked figure appeared above the table. “Master, they are here,” Dooku said. They both bowed before the figure. 

            “Excellent,” the Sith Lord replied.


	19. The Puppet Master

            Sidious looked down at the two of them, trying to hide his grin. He’d put a powerful spell on that holocron. Something even the old Jedi couldn’t resist apparently. He’d known they’d feel the darkness and eventually be drawn to the Sith temple underneath. That’s why he’d planted it there. The moment they touched it they would be compelled to follow his orders. And here they were. 

            His plan was falling into place. He’d even gotten two Jedi for the price of one. As long as they obeyed him, he had no reason to get rid of the Togruta. And he was anxious to see just how good they were together. He glanced over at Dooku, suddenly impatient to be rid of him. But he still had his uses for the time being, he had to play it just right. Even with the Chosen One on his side, the loss of Dooku could destabilize the Confederacy too quickly. And until all the leaders were gone and he unleashed his secret weapon, Dooku had to continue on. 

            After seeing these two fight, far more impressive than he’d imagined, he wanted to send them straight into the Jedi temple and let them loose. Now that they’d whet their appetite on Nar Shaddaa, he would have to give them enough challenges to keep them satiated enough to obey. Too little action and they’d turn their power on his own forces, too much and they wouldn’t be hungry enough to kill all the Jedi. 

            “I can sense the darkness in you both,” he started. “Together, we will cleanse the galaxy and restore order. The Empire will rise again from the ashes of the Republic and any that refuse to join us will kneel before our power or die.”

            “For the Empire!” Skywalker said. 

            “For the Empire!” the Togruta repeated. 

            “But first, there is much to be done. I have need of you both, to oversee a very special project. It’s success or failure will determine how ready we are to end the war. 

            “What is your command, master?” the Chosen One asked. It was hard to contain his glee at knowing he controlled such a powerful weapon.

            “You and your wife,” he sneered at her title. “Will go to Umbara. At all costs, you must protect the capital. The Jedi will respond with several legions of clones and it will become our testing ground for the greatest weapon we have. Once you arrive there, General Krell will brief you on the mission, but for the purpose of the exercise, you must maintain he is your enemy. Oversee the mission, kill if you get hungry, and report back the results.”

            “Your will be done,” Skywalker bowed and so did the Togruta. He clicked off the transmission and sat back against his chair. He threw back the hood of his black cloak and tapped his fingers together. He didn’t like their loyalty to each other, but after what he’d overheard in the temple, their attachment to each other meant that wherever one went, the other would follow. The Chosen One’s wife was too much of an unknown, he’d have to keep his eye on her. But being a former Sith meant she would be far more capable for some of these missions. Having tasted the darkness before, having tapped the true power of the force and all its potential, the right motivation would cause her to lust for it again. It was impossible to close that down completely. No matter what she’d said, she’d only managed to hide it away. The dark side was a thirst that could never be quenched. 

            The Chosen One had also walked the dark path, which meant he too would never be completely satisfied. And where there exists hunger, exists the possibility of manipulating and controlling. She didn’t appear to speak much, she also seemed to let her husband take charge. If she followed him wherever he went, she’d be no problem. His passion would be easy to redirect. He could point out a target and together they’d become his most powerful assassins. 

            His holocron had taken hold far better than he’d imagined and he was almost giddy with anticipation. Sweet victory, so close he could already taste it. And the fool Dooku thought he wouldn’t be able to control them? Look how easy it was! They’d done much of the work before he’d even turned them; threatening the council, speaking openly of things they feared, doing nothing to hide their relationship with each other. The Jedi didn’t trust them already. Soon they’d hear all sorts of rumors about their actions on Umbara. They’d crumble under the weight of knowing the very person they’d awoken to save them will be their ultimate destruction. 

 _Soon_. Soon no one would oppose him. Soon he would be the unrivaled ruler of the galaxy. More powerful than even the ancient Sith Emperor. Best of all, he won’t have other Sith to compete with either. The only ones left would be under his total control. Years of careful planning and nurturing would finally bear the fruit of his labor. 

            And if the Chosen One or the Togruta disobeyed any of his wishes, they could become leverage to control the other one. Two of them might even make his plan that much more successful. From what he understood, Skywalker would do anything not to lose her and she feared losing him above all else. If one acted out, he’d only need to endanger the other, and they’d be back in his control.

            But since they’d taken the Sith holocron, he didn’t need to be worried. They would be most cooperative. His spell would hold their leashes. Umbara would test that too. From what he’d heard, they’d done nothing but complain about the Jedi using clones to fight this war, adamant any soldiers should get to choose whether or not to fight. So, if they happily killed them while testing his final maneuver, it would prove he’d truly ensnared them. 

            He put away his dark cloak and sat back at his desk and dialed the temple. “Oh, Master Yoda,” he said in mock distress. “I’m so glad I reached you. I’ve heard some very disturbing news! The chosen one, he’s been spotted on Umbara. They say he went on a rampage and killed civilians alongside soldiers in order to seize control of the capital. Now he’s holding the people hostage and disrupting poor General Krell.”

            “Know this, we did not,” the shriveled green Jedi said in response. “Troubling this is.” 

            “What could cause this? I thought you said the Chosen One was a Jedi!”

            “Told that, we were,” Yoda said looking so much older than he already was. _Excellent._  

            “Well, we have to do something!” he prompted when the Jedi said nothing else. “If the people find out you awoke two people to save them only to have them do quite the opposite... it would be a disaster!”

            “Send troops, we will. Reinforce Krell, they will.”

            The transmission ended, and he shook his head. The Jedi master’s total lack of foresight would be their ultimate undoing. But Master Yoda was performing exactly as planned, sending only clones. General Krell will have plenty to practice on, plus spares for the chosen one and his wife to kill if they get hungry. Umbara was no longer a Republic world, having seceded to the Confederacy after the assassination of their Senator. So of course, why would the Jedi waste any of their own there? Even with the threat unchecked of the chosen one, they wouldn’t take responsibility for what they’d done. And in the end, it would only serve to destroy them. 


	20. Checkmate

            “Alright! I can’t wait to get my hands dirty,” Anakin clapped them together excitedly. She watched him for a moment and then looked past him at Count Dooku. He was also watching him with sharp, disapproving eyes. They were a rich brown, as elegant as the luxury he was used to. Like her, he didn’t show the outward signs of Sith corruption, but she could still feel the darkness in his energy. Perhaps it was his Jedi training first, or the will of the secret consular she believed him to be. But while Anakin exuded the dangerous emotions that were hallmarks of the Sith, the dark side didn’t make you forget who you were. It only changed how you behaved and how you treated others. She wasn’t sure they’d get another chance with Dooku, so before they left for Umbara, they had to test their theory about what motivated him. 

            “It’s a shame he seems to want to wipe out _all_ the Jedi,” she said more to Anakin than Dooku. “He’s completely overlooking a potential resource. It’s wasteful.” Anakin looked up at her slightly confused and then he caught her cue and nodded. 

            “You’re right, Snips. Get master Yoda and any of the other council members that are too stuck in their ways, out of the picture and the counsulars especially could come in handy,” he replied thoughtfully. “He’d have a powerful army if they were allowed to reach their full potential. But instead, they’ve been forced underground. Driven to shame for their natural affinity to the dark side.”

            “What are the consulars?” Dooku asked, trying to hide his sudden interest in their conversation. 

            “Back in our day, the Jedi order was made up of two branches, the warriors and the consulars,” Anakin explained. “The warriors are pretty self-explanatory. They were grouped into two categories; sentinels and guardians. Guardians tended to be healers, protectors and defenders. Sentinels were the generals and front-line soldiers leading the charge. Obviously, the roles were not exclusive, but they mostly differed in how they chose to fight. Consulars, on the other hand, were well versed in all aspects of the force. Though all Jedi needed to work from a place of balance between light and dark, their strength depended on it. They walked a fine line between the two opposing doctrines. They could manipulate the force in a manner similar to the Sith, but their intentions were to help others.”

            “Consulars were also made up of two categories; sages and shadows. Sages could twist the force into physically destructive manners, essentially changing its nature; force lightning, projecting objects, quaking the ground. But they were often some of the strongest healers too. They acted from a distance but were no less powerful than the warriors. Shadows could obscure the force and essentially hide in plain sight. Only highly attuned force users could see through their cloud of darkness to spot them. For obvious reasons, they made the best spies and saboteurs,” she continued. 

            “There’s evidence consulars still exist, but the council fears their natural darkness and rather than teach them balance, they teach them to deny themselves.”

            “With the right leadership, the Jedi order could be restored to its magnificent glory. But your master seems intent on wiping them all out. Incredibly short-sighted, if you ask me.” She crossed her arms. 

            “If Darth Sidious was prevented from wiping out the Jedi completely, perhaps after the war, we could overthrow the leadership of the order?” Dooku said carefully. She found him curious. His motivations seemed to be in the long term, for the greater good, but his belief on how to get there was sorely misguided. His issues with the Jedi appear centered around the council and their leadership, not the others that make up the order. Though she could sense the deaths of others on him, which meant he also killed those that got in his way. Under his leadership the Jedi _could_ flourish, but only if he learned to balance himself first. 

            “Well, even if Sidious didn’t kill all of them, we’d still have to find a new leader to teach them,” Anakin smirked, putting his arm around her and pulling her close. “Since you’re not meant to survive the war.”

            “What?” Dooku wasn’t able to hide his surprise this time. 

            “You didn’t feel that?” Anakin rolled his eyes. “We’re meant to replace you. No hard feelings,” he called over his shoulder as the two of them started walking back to their ship. The seeds were planted. If Dooku was as intelligent as she believed him to be, he’d formulate his own plan to undermine his master. That’s the one thing you could always count on in a Sith; they were always looking for ways to overthrow the competition.  _The enemy of my enemy is my friend..._

 

\---

 

            They stood inside a large transport ship, filled to the brim with battle droids of all different types, preparing to land in the capital of Umbara. She didn’t like this at all, but they had no choice. One of the small battle droids with yellow paint stepped forward and handed them a holodisk with a hologram of a besalisk… _Jedi?_  

            “I am General Pong Krell,” the Jedi said. “The purpose of this exercise on Umbara is to assess the obedience of the clones.” She raised her brow ever so slightly. Why did the Separatists care how obedient the clones were? They were fighting for the Republic. “We’re going to simulate an invasion scenario. The two of you are to hold the capital city. I will dispatch the first legion to attack, you will help the droids destroy them. After a few rounds of this, you will send out your army to meet them away from the city.”

            “Hold the capital, kill clones, got it,” Anakin said.

            “Why does it matter how obedient the clones are?” she asked before she could think about whether he’d wonder why she would care.

            “I forgot, you are recent additions to the cause.” The hologram of Krell was replaced by an image of a man in Mandalorian armor. “Jango Fett,” he said, zooming in so they could see the man’s face. She nearly gasped out loud. The clones were Jango Fett’s army. It took a lot of self-control to resist reacting to that news. “A Mandalorian bounty hunter, one of the best bounty hunters the galaxy had ever seen. Was chosen to be the donor for the Republic’s army. Count Dooku had bio-chips created and inserted into the head of every clone during development. Upon activation, the clones will turn on their Jedi generals and obey only Darth Sidious’ orders.”

            “Impressive,” Anakin said, and she nearly scowled at him.

            “As the war nears its climax, we must be certain the chips will activate as intended. But before activation, we have to make sure the free-thinking clones, the ones the Jedi taught to be creative, are still obedient under other leadership. As they face defeat after defeat here, the council will eventually send several more Jedi generals to help the cause. Once these Jedi land, I will activate order sixty-six to test the chips. Once activated, the clones will kill the generals and the three of us will leave Umbara,” Krell said.

            “What about the remaining clones?”

            “The chips destroy the host within several days of activation.”

            “They self-destruct?” she attempted to swallow the rising bile.

            “In a manner of speaking,” the Jedi laughed. “From what I heard, it melts their brain.” He clapped his bottom two hands together.

            “We are landing now,” the yellow painted droid interrupted.

            “Excellent,” Krell said. “Sending the first wave. Make it look good and under no circumstances are you to contact me until after the activation of the chips.” The transmission ended, and she stared at it in horror, grateful that droids could not sense her emotions.

            She glanced at her husband who seemed woefully unbothered by the news. She knew he was acting, but she wished she could talk to him about this. He gave her a warning look to stay silent and she looked down at the floor. They’d known going into this they would have to kill. She tried to clear her head and let the hatred that was burning her gut surface. She’d kill the clones because she had to. What they discovered here would help them end the war soon enough, hopefully not how Sidious intended to end it. Every death here would prevent thousands elsewhere and that fact was the only thing that made her accept that she had to go through with this.

            The sounds of battle could be heard the moment they stepped off the ship. Umbaran soldiers rushed past them to defend the gates of the city. The droids marched off the ship behind them. “Awaiting your orders,” the yellow one said to Anakin.

            “Defend the perimeter,” he ordered and took off running after the soldiers. She took a deep breath and swallowed, following him a moment later.

            Her vision blurred as blood swam before her eyes. Death all around them, on their hands. She tried not to think about what she was doing as bodies fell around her. She sunk deeper and deeper under the tide of hatred. Even her white blades started looking red, but maybe red was all she could see anymore. She didn’t let herself see the people. She pretended they were droids. _But droids didn’t bleed..._ They repeated this until the waves finally stopped.

            They sent their army of droids out into the wilds to face the retreating clones. They stayed back at the capital this time. She pretended not to hear the screams. Or the blaster fire. Or the death. _It was for the greater good,_ she kept repeating. At some point her mantra no longer cut it. She couldn’t stand there anymore. The room spun before her.

            “I’m getting hungry,” she said jokingly, staring out the glass at all the fighting below. She had an itching to join in and it was getting harder and harder to resist it. But she also had an itching to run away and pretend they weren’t doing any of this. She’d fought too hard to fall back into this way of life. She’d hated it from the beginning. She hated it just as much now. She knew what they were doing. She knew they were going to save the order, and the Republic. She knew they were going to stop the worst threat they’d ever faced. But all she could see anymore was the blood on her hands and her need to bloody them further. She was losing this battle and that terrified her. She had to resist. She couldn’t give in.

            “Bored already, huh Snips? Happy hunting,” Anakin smirked, patting her on the shoulder. She glanced at him. He had the same hunger on his face that she felt. She didn’t like the bloodlust that poured off him. He was enjoying every kill and every death, and the longer this went on, the harder it would be to pull him back. Provided _she_ could pull back first. She curled her lips and nodded at him. He was changing before her eyes. Maybe they both were.

            He was so sure she’d be able to save them both, he’d given into the temptation completely. She knew he hadn’t forgotten their mission, but he was enjoying the rush of power and not having to restrain himself. To him, everything they were doing now would be justified in the end when they’d succeeded at undermining the Sith’s plan. For that reason, he could turn a blind eye to the individual acts of horror and destruction. But after everything she’d seen in her young life, on both sides, she couldn’t do the same. Every act tested every ounce of strength she’d meticulously built to resist the Sith way of life. She didn’t fear the darkness, she feared herself. His Jedi-only view of the world allowed him to disassociate from the unpleasant parts that made up the whole as long as the end game was for the betterment of the galaxy. For her though, starting as a Sith meant that she was acutely aware in every moment of which way her choices pointed her and she was particularly harsh on herself for anything questionable; a habit she’d never dropped after trying so hard to prove she was a Jedi and hide her past.

            She snuck out of the capital and climbed one of the overgrown plants with flat tops. She leapt from plant to plant, observing the battle from above, looking for a place to sink in her teeth. What was happening here disturbed her, but now that they’d mostly figured out Sidious’ plan, they could work towards preventing it. The next step was finding someone to listen. It had taken everything she had to not react in outrage when they learned that Jango Fett’s army was the clones the Jedi fought with. And that Sidious’ checkmate was turning the clones against the Jedi order.

            They had two choices now. Kill as many as they could before that happened or convince them to get the control chips removed. Neither route was easy, and killing them was completely undesirable. Well at least it was before they’d awoken the darkness in themselves again. She shook her head, what was she thinking?

            She stopped on top of one of the plants, hidden from view as the battle raged below them. “Cease fire, stop shooting!” She heard a shout. There was something familiar about the voice. She heard it all over the place, but this one resonated with her. “Remove your helmets!”

            “But sir?”

            “Take them off!” She peered over the edge to see the group of clones below her, two different colors of armor, all started removing their helmets. She tipped her head to the side. “Look, we’re all brothers here! They’re making us kill each other.” She zeroed in on the person speaking.  _Rex._  She had to get him to listen to her; to prevent this. Seeing him cleared her vision some.

            “What are we going to do, sir?” another one asked.

            “I don’t know. But we have to confront General Krell. If he knows about this…” Rex trailed off. “Head back to base, now. Move out!” The others packed up and started moving, Rex lagged behind to scan their surroundings and cover their retreat. She leapt to another plant and before he started moving, she dropped down in front of him. “You? You’re behind this?” She tried to brush off the accusation in his tone and pulled him behind cover.

            “Rex, I need you to listen to me,” she started, glancing past him to make sure the coast was still clear.

            “CT-7567 and I don’t make deals with the enemy,” he said, and she turned to focus on him. There was something about the way he said it that hurt far more than she wanted to admit. “We trusted you both! And you turned on us!”

            “I know what you’ve probably heard, but we’re not the enemy,” she said quickly. “I’m begging you,  _listen_. The only way we could help the Jedi and the Republic was to pretend to switch sides in order to uncover the Sith lord’s plan.”

            “And why should I believe you?”

            “Rex, you have to save your brothers.” She ran her fingers across the marks on the helmet he was still holding as tears welled in her eyes. “Or every one of them will be a mark on your armor. “It’s far worse than we imagined. You and your brothers, you have chips in your head. They’re called bio-chips. They were planted there in the embryonic stage. When the order is given, it will override your free will and make you turn on the Jedi. I can’t tell you what that order is or I’ll activate it.”

            “Why should I trust you?” he asked, but she’d felt his doubt.

            “What would I gain by lying to you about this? The Sith lord doesn’t want the Jedi to know about these control chips, they’ve gone to great lengths to hide it. You have to get them out of as many clones as you can,” she pleaded with him to listen. “All of this.” She gestured to the battlefield around them. “It’s just a small taste of what’s coming. A test, to find out how obedient you are.”

            “And if we don’t remove the chips?”

            “They’re designed to kill you after activation,” she said sadly and started pacing. “You can’t tell anyone I told you. And you can’t tell the Jedi about them. But please Rex, get them out of as many as you can. For now, the Jedi have to believe we’re on the other side.” She set her hand on his shoulder and leapt back to the top of one of the nearby plants. She knew Rex would listen, whatever doubts he may have about her loyalty, the threat to his brothers was enough. He was a good man, and a good soldier. As horrible as Umbara would be on him, it was lucky he was here. She was certain he was the only one that would have listened to her. Now all she could do was hope.

            There was no way Rex would be able to get them out of the millions of clones out there in operation, especially secretly. But every one that couldn’t be turned would save countless lives. At this point, it was the best they could do for them. It made her sick that they’d been created to live and die for the Republic that was designed to lose anyways. That they had no freedom of choice already. The moment they’d served their purpose, they’d be destroyed as though their lives meant nothing. And worse than all of that, no one would mourn for the faceless army that sacrificed everything for them.

            And the Jedi council of her time had truly believed the Sith way of life would always tempt her, simply because she’d already tasted it. If only they knew that the hatred that fueled the darkness everyone felt in her now, was only _at_ the Sith and their methods. She was suddenly sure that general Krell was not going to survive this simulation. If Rex had already figured out that Krell was behind what they were being ordered to do, it wouldn’t be long until they brought him down. She had no doubt Rex would walk away from this. He was a survivor, and she admired that about him.

            They’d planted the seeds of doubt in Dooku. They’d learned Sidious’ checkmate move and taken the first step to preventing it from causing total devastation. Now all they needed was time. Enough time and his plans would unravel, and they’d come out on top. Now she just had to make sure that her and Anakin didn’t lose themselves before that happened.


	21. Facing the Darkness

            They dropped out of hyperspace over Ilum. It had been a long three days, and frankly he was ready to be off this ship and away from her for awhile. He loved her, but they needed some time apart. After failing their mission on Umbara, things had been incredibly tense between them and Darth Sidious, but also between each other. As far as he was concerned they’d done everything they’d been told to do. It wasn’t their fault that some of the clones figured out Krell wasn’t acting as a Jedi. What had they expected? He constantly put them into danger, sending them repeatedly to a slaughter. Created to fight or not, there’s such a thing as the will to survive and they had it. And if Jango Fett was half the bounty hunter they’d been told he was, then yeah, it made perfect sense these clones of him would do whatever it took to survive. 

            Ahsoka had pestered him constantly all the way to the ice planet below them. Getting mad at him for not caring what had happened there. He _had_ cared, but he also knew they _had_ to do this. And when you have to do something, you might as well enjoy it. There was a certain kind of freedom in the darkness. You didn’t have to restrain yourself, you could feel things and act on impulse. It was addicting. She was taking it so seriously. Nothing they were doing now was bad, not when it would be justified in the end. She really needed to lighten up. He’d told her so, that’s what had started their latest argument. 

            Yeah, the lives they were taking to do this shouldn’t be taken lightly, but if they knew their sacrifice would save the galaxy, they’d be fine with it. He shook his head in frustration and set the approach vector. The sooner they were done on Ilum, the better. The only thing worse than a desert planet was an ice planet. It had been nice of Dooku to provide them with cold weather gear for this mission. Why Sidious was looking for a giant kyber crystal though, he didn’t know. In all their time on Ilum before, he’d never even heard of large formations like the Sith Lord had described. 

            He wasn’t really looking forward to wandering through a tricky Jedi temple with his grumpy wife though, so as soon as they were inside, they were going to split up. They’d cover more ground that way anyways. 

            They landed a few minutes later at the coordinates Sidious had provided. He didn’t recognize this particular part of the Jedi temple right off, but last time he’d been here it had been overrun with pirates and imperials, so they hadn’t had much time to tour the local sights. By the time he shut down the ship and changed into warmer clothes, she was already outside inspecting the area. He reached out to touch her, but she stepped out of reach. He hated that they were falling apart but saving the Republic and the Jedi was more important right now. 

            “I think the entrance is over there.” She pointed to what looked like a large cascading waterfall that had frozen solid.

            “It looks more like a wall to me,” he muttered. She gave him an annoyed look and then pointed up at a golden device with mirrors on it. 

            “We’ll have to wait until the sun hits that and then we can turn the beam on the waterfall.” She started to sit down, and he strolled past her and put his hand on the frozen ‘door.’ It was definitely hollow behind it, he could hear the echo when he tapped on it.

            He pulled his lightsaber out, spun it in his hand and jabbed it through the block of ice. Then proceeded to cut a hole in the doorway. Once finished he clipped his lightsaber back to his belt and stepped through. When he turned around she was glaring at him with her arms crossed. “What?” he asked in frustration. 

            “If I didn’t know any better I’d say you really are a Sith,” she said and stepped through behind him. “Only a Sith would so blatantly desecrate a Jedi temple.”

            “We’re in a hurry. Every second we waste is a second closer to losing this war,” he said stubbornly.

            “It’s not about winning or losing. It’s about saving lives. Or perhaps you’ve forgotten what we’re doing?”

            “You know what? I don’t have to listen to this! See you later.” He waved over his shoulder and started down the left fork of the cave system. She was so infuriating. It was like he couldn’t do anything right by her anymore. What was she? Miss perfect? Not by a long shot.

            He walked for a long time, grumbling to himself. At least she’d had the decency not to follow him. He was doing the best he could. What more did she want from him? Did she think overthrowing ten plus years of carefully strategized plans was easy? He might be the chosen one, but he still had to face the reality that they knew very little about Darth Sidious or how to stop him. So yeah, he was frustrated. He was angry. And frankly, he was starting to question the point of saving these stupid Jedi that had let all of this happen to begin with.

            “There is no emotion, there is peace,” a voice echoed around him.

            “Oh can it, specter,” he replied in annoyance. “I have bigger problems right now, I don’t need to be haunted.”

            He turned a corner and backed up a few steps. “For a Jedi, you lack any kind of peace.” A huge image of a temple guardian stepped forward. It practically filled the whole tunnel. Its brown ceremonial robes, its white faceless mask. It’s double bladed lightsaber swinging from its belt. 

            “Well, I don’t have much to be peaceful about right now,” he replied indignantly and crossed his arms. “You know, there’s a war going on out there.”

            “The only war I see is in your head,” the guardian said. 

            “I don’t have time for riddles right now, so step aside and let me pass.”

            “I can step aside, but I can also tell you that what you’re looking for isn’t here.”

            “Right, that’s exactly what someone tasked to guard the thing I’m looking for would say.” He started marching down the hallway anyways, expecting to just pass through the vision and continue on his way. But the guardian pulled out its lightsaber and ignited it. Both blades were red, and so were the eye sockets of the mask.

            “Peace is a lie, there is only passion,” it said. “Through passion, I gain strength. Through strength I gain power. Through power, victory and through victory my chains are broken, and the force shall set me free.”

            “Yeah, you’re right. I’m here for strength so I can achieve victory. Once I achieve victory and power, I will set the galaxy free,” he replied in annoyance.

            “You swore to live your life by a different code, but how little it seems to matter to you now. Inside this cave lives the thing you are most terrified to lose.” Suddenly the specter was holding Ahsoka. She dangled helplessly several feet off the ground clawing at her neck. 

            “Let her go,” he growled, igniting his lightsaber. 

            “I could...” the vision said. “But you’re stronger without her. She holds you back. Kill her and you gain immeasurable power. With that power you could free the galaxy. You would rule supreme, no one alive could challenge you.”

            “That does sound nice,” he murmured, and she looked at him horrified, gasping for breath. “Not as much fun though.” The specter dropped her, and she landed hard, panting for air. “Come on, Ahsoka. We have a kyber crystal to find.” 

            She didn’t get up. “You’d rather have fun than save the galaxy?” she asked hoarsely. “You could have killed me to save millions, but I’m just your entertainment? You’re sick!” she spat at him. 

            He spun on her. “I could still kill you, you know? Don’t tempt me.”

            “You’ve gone too far. You’ve forgotten everything,” she cried, getting to her feet and running in the opposite direction.

            “Ahsoka!” He chased her down the tunnel, but it wasn’t long before he lost sight of her. “I just want to finish this, so we can go back to the way things were.”

            “We can’t go back!” she yelled from somewhere. Her voice echoed around the cave system, he had no idea where she was. “We can never go back. You broke us.”

            “You’re the one that’s too uptight! If anybody broke us, it’s you! I’m just doing my duty,” he shouted.

            “Yeah, duty comes first, I get it. Well you know what? You can have your duty. I’m out of here. Next time, save yourself.” Her voice faded, and he was hit with something so hard he stumbled and fell to his knees. It was like a rush of wind that ran straight through his body, but it felt like it took most of him with it. He fell to the floor, feeling barely like a man anymore. He was alone. It was like every piece of himself that she’d been entangled in was just gone. He half expected to look down and see holes where his body was supposed to be. 

            Memories echoed around him of their arguments over the years. All the good times they’d shared started fading around him. He was so weak he couldn’t even reach for them as they floated by. His fingers started tingling with a staticky sensation like they were going numb. Thousands of pinpricks attacked his body from all sides, every movement horrendously painful.

            He squeezed his eyes shut, waiting out the sensation as long as possible and then like a vacuum, it felt like every piece of her had been sucked out of his existence. The only thing left was a hollow echo in the spaces where she’d once lived. He wasn’t sure how long he laid there on the cold icy ground. Or when he’d turned to see his reflection in a piece of clear glass. But if there was anything left in him, he’d have started crying. 

            His reflection showed him standing tall and strong, powerful and in charge. Holding his red-bladed lightsaber, donned in the finest robes. People cowered before him as he walked along slicing through them for no good reason other than he could. But inside that man was only this. The weak, pathetic broken version of himself that was curled into a fetal position. That was the curse of the Sith; you gain immeasurable power, but you lose everything else. Including yourself. You sacrifice what’s most important in life to become something horrible. And if that’s what he was becoming, it was time to cleanse himself as much as possible.

            He finally found the strength to get to his hands and knees, crawling slowly towards the entrance. Screw the kyber crystal, it wasn’t here. Even if it was, Sidious didn’t need it. 

            “Ahsoka!” he cried weakly as he found the broken door he’d cut through earlier. She didn’t answer. He reached out in the force, but he couldn’t feel her anymore. It was like she’d vanished completely. He got to his feet and raced back towards the ship. But she wasn’t there either. He started panicking. It was just a trick of the temple, she couldn’t really be gone. But he turned the ship upside down and found no sign of her, no sign that she’d ever existed. He ran to the refresher and stared in horror at his reflection. Even outside the Jedi temple, and free of its tricks, he still looked like the horrible Sith he’d seen inside it. It was too late. The darkness had taken hold. 


	22. Refueling

            She marched through the ship, anger darkening the very air around her. Her vision was red, and everything blurred before her. She couldn’t believe what she’d witnessed in the temple, and just how far he’d fallen. And now here he was, starting the ship about to leave her behind _again_. She was tired of pretending or tiptoeing around the issue, it was time to confront him, once and for all. If he wanted to leave her, then he better damn well say it rather than finding every reason in the world to escape her. She’d done everything to be a good wife; she took care of him, she supported him, she fought by his side, she protected him, and she’d saved his skin more times than she’d kept track. If she’d known he really didn’t want her here, she would have lived out her life in their own time and left him to his fate.

            “Where do you think you’re going, Skyguy?” she demanded when she’d made it to the bridge. The ship shuddered violently as he let go of the controls and it dropped back down onto the landing platform.

            He spun around, “Ahsoka?” Surprise was written across his features. Of course he was surprised, he hadn’t expected to be caught in the act.

            “Who told you to leave me behind on this forsaken planet? Sidious?”

            “What? No,” he said quickly. _Right._

            “Of course the dark lord of the Sith wouldn’t try to split us up, not when he wants your loyalty to be to him alone,” she muttered sarcastically, crossing her arms.

            He stood up moving towards her. “I haven’t even talked to him, that’s not…”

            “And why should I believe you?” she cried. “Ever since we started pretending to be Sith, you’ve brushed me aside. You’ve not heard a word I’ve said. What’s happening to you, Anakin? What’s happening to us?”

            “Nothing!” he exclaimed. “I know things have been a bit tense, but we expected that. You’re still my wife and I still love you.”

            “But you were going to leave me behind again, like you did before!”

            “This again? I said I was sorry!” His surprise gave way to frustration and impatience.

            “You’re sorry? Sorry can’t undo what you did to me!” she screamed at him. “You never had to live through it. You don’t know what it was like walking along on top of the world and then suddenly feeling like you’d been ripped in half! You don’t know what it was like to wake up in the morning on the floor from a night of sobbing and searching for you in the force in a pool of tears and vomit. You don’t know what it was like to face the council and have them lie to me about what happened to you; the people that I had trusted and fought for! You don’t know what it was like to find your frozen body and know that even though you were still alive you’d left me behind like I was nothing to you. And that you didn’t even have the decency to tell me what the kriff you were doing!” she raged, feeling herself fill with every bottled-up emotion as though it had finally hit breaking point. “You don’t know what it was like to smuggle a carbonite slab of you out of the temple in the middle of the night, braving the dangers of Tython alone to hide you away because despite every horrible thing you’d just done to me, I still loved you and wanted to protect you. You don’t know what it was like to be woken up a thousand years later to find Tython destroyed, the Jedi order crumbling and hope beyond hope that my stupid need not to lose you hadn’t actually killed you...” She crumpled to the floor as her rage gave way to tears and memories overwhelmed her.

            She’d never before felt so much fear. So much doubt, so many insecurities. She’d never before questioned herself or the world like that. He’d been her master, her love, her rock; the only thing she’d ever been completely sure of and then he’d done this to her. She’d tried to hide it, but she couldn’t anymore. The way the loneliness had spread through her, it felt too much like she’d been the last person alive in the galaxy. Every face she’d passed after his ‘death’ had blurred before her as though they weren’t even real. It felt like she was imagining all of it. Like some kind of nightmare except you couldn’t wake up. The kind that didn’t scare you because of monsters, but because everything felt _wrong_. That the world you saw didn’t match the way you felt. Everyone had been too calm, too friendly, too at peace when she had been completely unraveling.

 

\---

 

            He stared at his wife in disbelief. He’d thought she was gone, but it seemed it had just been another trick of the force. It was rare for visions and tricks to extend past the walls or boundaries of the temples, but he suddenly understood why. Not only had he felt completely lost and empty without her, seeing her alive had snapped him out of the darkness he’d fallen into. At least enough to clear his head so he could think straight again. In their game of pretend, he’d forgotten the power of their love. Yes, he feared losing her, like the vision had said, but there was more to it than that. Whatever their souls were made of, they were the same. They were so embedded in each other that if something happened to the other one, they’d completely unravel. And that’s what had happened to her when he’d agreed to the council’s demand a thousand years ago. And that’s what had happened to him a few minutes ago when he’d thought for sure she’d been sucked out of his life.

            It wasn’t an accident she’d been brought into his life and it certainly wasn’t an accident they’d bonded as deeply as they had. None of the achievements he’d gained would have happened without her help. Without him, she would have been lost or forgotten, probably even killed by the Jedi. They’d needed each other then and they still needed each other now. And he’d been so blind. He was nothing without her, so maybe the prophecy had been wrong; there wasn’t a Chosen One, but rather a Chosen Two. Together they were balanced, apart… a threat to everything and everyone. Because he had to face it, even as a Jedi, he’d never known balance the way he had after she’d come into his life. On his own path, he would have stumbled horribly and caused far worse devastation than what the galaxy was already facing.

            He knelt down in front of her and she flinched when he reached out his hands to touch her face. “You’re right,” he said softly. “Sorry doesn’t change anything. But I _am_ sorry. I’m sorry I didn’t understand. I can’t change what happened, but I swear to you, wherever I go, you will go too. No matter what side we’re on or what time we’re in.”

            She blinked up at him, dried tears staining her beautiful face. “You promise?” she whispered.

            “Inside that temple I saw who I was without you; I was nothing. There were giant holes where my body and soul were supposed to be. And if I could, I’d sacrifice every ounce of power I possessed to hold onto you forever.”

            “Why didn’t you tell me what you were doing?” she choked, struggling to pull herself together.

            “The council didn’t give me a chance to,” he admitted. “I begged them to let me talk to you first, to let you come along. But they were convinced a former Sith could not be trusted to save the Jedi if it came to that. They were wrong. I knew it then and I know it now. The irony is that without you here, I would fail miserably to save anyone. In a moment of weakness, I rationalized that maybe I was being selfish. What they were proposing wasn’t about me, or us, or our lives. It was the future of the order that I’d sworn to protect. But even if taking you along would have been selfish, I should have done it. I should have fought them harder. I’m so sorry, Ahsoka. So sorry.”

            He reached behind her and under her legs and lifted her in his arms. She buried her face in his neck as he carried her into their room. All he wanted was to curl up with her and hold her tight. She thought his loyalty was to Sidious? He could have laughed out loud. They’d been through hell together and apart and he’d gladly walk through it a million more times as long as she was there. That kind of attachment was dangerous. The same thing these new Jedi warned about. But the thing was… attachment wasn’t what drove a person mad, it was losing that with which you were attached to. None of the things he’d seen in his reflection had tempted him. Maybe it’s what he would have been without her, but he didn’t care. Maybe it was even fun sometimes, to hold that much power. But the only thing he truly hungered for was her. And without her, nothing would have filled that void. Nothing would have ever satisfied him again.

            He set her down on the bed and pulled off his cold weather coat, so he could climb in next to her and feel her close. He held her tightly against him, trying not to imagine what it would have been like to spend the rest of his life in an empty bed. He kissed her face repeatedly, memorizing it with his lips as much as his eyes. She curled into him but didn’t say anything at all. He let her cry it out, he let her come down until the darkness started receding. He ran his fingers down her cheek, brushing the drying tears away.

            “I love you so much,” he whispered into her skin. “I promise, I’ll never leave you again.”

            “You can’t promise that,” she breathed, looking up at his face. She pushed a curl out of his eye and rested her palm on his face. “But I appreciate the thought.”

            “If I can’t promise that, why’d you make me promise it?” he smirked.

            “I just needed to hear it, even if I knew it was impossible.” She curled her lips.

            “Okay, well maybe I can’t promise that I’ll never leave you, but I _can_ promise that if I have any control over what is happening, I’m not going without you,” he said quietly, kissing her on the forehead.

            “Do you remember our first night together?” she asked. “When there was nothing but us, and the discovery of just what ‘us’ meant?”

            “How could I forget?”

            “I was so scared. I’d never let my walls down like that before. You saw things I’d never let anyone see before. The only thing that kept me going that night, was knowing I could trust you. As long as I was with you, I knew everything would be okay. That went beyond the bedroom. I felt safe going there with you because I could trust you with the rest of me. Do you know how many times I wanted to tell you where I’d come from? How many times I wished you could know the truth? I’m sorry I couldn’t tell you. I’m sorry you had to find out like that. But thank you… thank you for seeing me in my darkest moment and loving me anyways.”

            “It wasn’t hard, Ahsoka.” He ran his hand down her arm. “I knew I loved you shortly after I met you. It was different at first, of course, since you were just a kid. The funny thing is, I didn’t know how much I loved you until you tried to kill me. I guess that’s when I decided I would live and die by your hand and that it was going to be one hell of a ride.”

            She blushed and looked down, her montral stripes brightened and he smiled to himself. “Sorry.”

            “Don’t be,” he said, tipping her chin up so he could meet her lips. “I wouldn’t trade it for anything. You’ve made my life better in every way. I didn’t know Sith were that powerful.”

            She playfully pushed him and for a second he felt like he was going to fall off the bed. He grabbed for her and they both went over. She landed on top of him laughing. She straddled him and sat back, then she pulled off her coat and threw it to the side. He ran his hands up her sides as she leaned forward and kissed him hard. He savored every kiss like it was the first time again. Of course this time, she was a lot bolder. She teased his bottom lip, nibbled on his jaw, licked his neck. He loved every sensation as she moved up against him. He forgot all about the ice outside or the cold. The temperature in the room shot up, even as they removed more and more clothing.

            He ran his fingers down her neck, pulling her back for more and pushing her shirt out of the way. He touched her reverently and worshipped every inch of her as though she were a god. He rolled her over, so he was on top and ripped off his shirt, bending down to touch and taste her skin. She moaned when he reached her breasts, arching into him. He licked and sucked, enjoying it all. He couldn’t believe a few hours ago he’d wanted to get away from her for awhile, because now all he wanted was her underneath his skin.

            He moved down her rib cage and teased her abs and her navel. She writhed happily under his touch, moving to present more places for him to shower his attention on. He lifted one leg, so she could roll onto her stomach and he helped pull her tunic the rest of the way off. She tipped her head forward as he rubbed his cheek along her back lekku, kissing and licking her back between her shoulders. She sighed in contentment as he made patterns with his mouth, communicating things he could only do this way.

            He sat back on her thighs and ran his hands up her, filling in the blanks he’d missed with his lips and tongue. He squeezed her butt, working his fingers over the fabric of her pants. He was both impatient and trying his best to pace himself. There was so much of her that he loved, it was impossible to explore it all before he couldn’t stand it anymore. She wiggled her butt under his touch if he took too long to continue. He stood up, so he could discard the rest of his clothes and she rolled onto her back, watching him hungrily.

            She got to her knees before he even managed to get his boots off and put him in her mouth. He groaned louder than he meant to as her warm wet lips moved along him. She knew just where to touch and lick and roll. She could do with her tongue what he could barely do with his fingers. He tipped his head back and closed his eyes, falling deeper and deeper into the abyss.

            But just as they were in tune in the force, they were in tune in other ways too and she knew how far to go to leave him teetering on the brink. She climbed back on the bed and lifted her legs, waiting expectantly for him to remove her pants and finish what they’d started. It wasn’t that sex was the only way to make it up to her, it probably wasn’t even close. But sometimes they could communicate in touches far better than they could in words, and this was one of those times. They’d said everything they possibly could about what had happened between them. They’d rebuilt their bridge with the wood frame anchors of ‘sorry’ and ‘thank you.’ Now came proving it. With actions and actions alone could they fill in the missing pieces and close the gap.

            He moved over her, looking up at her face and loving more than her body but her presence. When he went in, it was like walking into her heart and soul again; filling her with everything he was and providing all she could possibly need. Every push moved them beyond the bedroom and deep into the force. All sense of their physical bodies faded as their energies intertwined again. She was him, he was her. They were one and the same; together, forever. She filled every empty space he’d felt inside that temple, completing him once again and building him into everything he should be. Maybe there wasn’t two chosen, but rather two people becoming the Chosen _One_.

            Her fingers touched his heart more than his skin. She stroked it comfortingly as it rested happily in her embrace. He relaxed into the feeling of home as they faded away into the night. Moving together and carrying each other into bliss. He would never ever tire of the way she could pour herself over him and fill him completely. With her and her alone, he felt whole. He was never going to forget it again.


	23. Darth Sidious

            “Anakin.” She shook him awake.

            “Mmm?” He rolled over.

            “Our boss is calling, get dressed.” She threw his clothes at his face. He groaned and sat up, watching her as she pulled her clothes on.

            “You get more beautiful every day,” he murmured.

            “You’re sweet, but we have a war to finish.” She patted him on the cheek and left the room. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to hear it, because after what they’d been through, she could use all the flattery he had, but her mind was already on what was coming. And they couldn’t be distracted when they talked to the mastermind behind all of this, he’d sense their insincerity. So, they needed to be convincing. She took a few minutes to draw on the residual hatred from her memories and the tingling anger that still ran through her from the night before. It was hard to be angry about it now. He hadn’t meant to leave her behind, not this time anyways. She’d felt that in every touch. Her and Anakin, well, they were way more physical than verbal. They could talk about things, but more was said with their hands than with words. And if he’d been insincere about any of what they’d shared, she would have known. He hadn’t.

            But she still needed to focus. She had the strongest sense that things were coming to a head and they needed to be on the top of their game, so they could finish this once and for all. He joined her a few minutes later, looking decidedly like he too was trying to bring back the darkness but was struggling to. In normal circumstances, she’d be grateful for that, but right now, they needed it.

            “Just think about how much you hate the Sith,” she said. His eyes darkened instantly as memories of their war overwhelmed them both.

            “I don’t hate all of them, though,” he said trying to stay above the waves.

            “Right now, you have to.” He studied her a moment and then nodded. She felt it pour over him again as he lost himself in the emotion. He tensed, darkening the room. Then he nodded and headed past her to the ship communicator. She pulled some of his onto herself and followed him into the cockpit, staring coldly at the cloaked figure that had appeared above it.

            “Master,” Anakin bowed. She nodded quickly.

            “Did you find the crystal?” Sidious asked.

            “No, master,” he replied. “We searched the caves as best as we could, but there was nothing resembling the formation you’d described.”

            “Unfortunate,” the Sith said. “But it can wait. I have more pressing matters to attend to. It would seem I need to accelerate my plans and I need you back on Coruscant immediately.”

            “Of course, master,” Anakin said obediently. “What do you need us to do?”

            “Grievous and Dooku are on their way here. Once you arrive, I will send an anonymous tip to the Jedi that I am the Sith lord they are looking for. They won’t be able to resist confronting me. And after all the horrible things they’ve heard the two of you have been doing, they’ll want to stop you both too. Once we dispatch the council, I will execute Order sixty-six and have you storm the temple. The Separatist leaders are waiting on Mustafar, once finished, I will address the Senate and the people.”

            “Your will be done, master,” Anakin growled. “I’m ready to destroy these false Jedi.”

            “Good, good,” Sidious replied. “Use that hatred, let it fuel you. Now hurry back.” The transmission ended. The darkness in the room dissipated some.

            “I’m glad it’s almost over, but I wish we’d had more time. I don’t feel like we’re ready to stop him,” she said quietly.

            “We have to be.” He curled his hand into a fist. “How likely is your little girl going to give the holocron to the council?”

            “I have no doubt she’ll do it. The problem is, I’m not sure they’ll listen. Not if Sidious has been feeding them rumors about what we’ve been up to,” she replied.

            “Are you willing to kill if you have to?” He looked up at her.

            “Only if it comes to it,” she said adamantly. “Even if we turn on Sidious in front of them, I doubt they’ll see us as being on their side.”

            “May the force be with us,” he said.

            “Or like Kira used to say, “Or at least not with them.”

            “You and Kira were a lot alike, you know that?” he laughed.

            “Well yeah, we were both Children of the Emperor.”

            “That’s not what I meant.” She shook her head at him and sat down in the copilot seat. As they lifted off of Ilum and set the navcomputer for Coruscant, she tried not to think about what was coming. This was it, the end of the war. They’d learned much pretending to be Sidious’ puppets, but she still wasn’t sure they’d done enough to stop him.

            _Oh, Helalin, if you can feel this, now is the time to give that holocron to the council._

            They jumped the ship into hyperspace. Normally it was at least a day’s worth of travel, but the ship they’d been given was surprisingly fast. The computer said eight hours. They had eight hours before judgement. Were they ready? No, but like Anakin had said; they had to be. Now they just had to make sure that Sidious didn’t have any other tricks up his sleeves.

 

\---

           

            She felt the imbalance the moment they landed on Coruscant. It was like the force itself was holding its breath, waiting in anticipation. So deeply entrenched in the darkness, she could feel it spreading across the city planet, racing through the streets with invisible fingers, suffocating everything it passed. This would normally be the moment they’d draw on the light to fight such evil, but for now they had to walk in it as though they belonged here.

            They disembarked the ship, rolling their shoulders and preparing for the end of everything. Hoping they _could_ end it. She waved her hand and threw the guards to the side against some crates. They marched in determination towards the senate tower. Sidious had likely felt them land. He’d sent his secret message to the Jedi. It was only a matter of time before they’d arrive.

Any guards that tried to stop them were disarmed and knocked out. The senators and civilians they passed, stepped out of their way. She let the darkness fill her as they moved, giving into it. She could feel him doing the same. His eyes were golden once again. Both of them walked with their lightsabers out, the crystals bleeding in the hilt. She ignored the pain it caused her to twist them like that, but Sidious had to believe they had been turned. And frankly, so did the Jedi.

            The royal guards attempted to stop them, but then the doors opened and there he was. Darth Sidious. He didn’t look like much, a small man, old. But looks were deceiving. His power was obvious, the darkness poured off him. They both took a knee in front of him and bowed their heads.

            “Come, my friends. It is time for the Empire to rise again,” the dark lord said. “The Jedi are on their way. They are weak, but still a threat. Once destroyed, nothing will stop our glorious future.”

            “For the Empire,” they echoed, and Sidious gave an evil smile.

            She stood to one side of the desk, Anakin on the other. Sidious sat there almost gleeful that his plans were about to come to fruition. Even in the darkness she was fighting to keep a clear head, but she hadn’t counted on his influence. They were stronger than him, she knew that, but he was clouding the air around him. It was disorienting. She could feel the darkness rising, both in them but also in the room.

            As if they’d joined energy, she could feel his hatred for the Jedi. And slowly it started spreading through her too. The darkness she was harboring using her memories was slowly morphing into real hatred for these so-called Jedi. Maybe they _did_ deserve to die. Maybe it was time to end their reign. She closed her eyes trying to control herself without alerting Sidious that something was wrong. For the moment though, he seemed focused on what was coming. She glanced at Anakin. He too was staring at the door, anticipation rising. Every second that ticked by scared her. If they didn’t get here soon, stopping Sidious might be out of the question. Had they heard their message in the holocron? Had they believed it?

            She looked up when the council entered. Her and Anakin moved to stand side by side between them and the Chancellor, their hands at the ready. They were followed in by two groups of clones, led by Rex and Cody. She felt a blast of hatred as Sidious tensed behind them and her vision blurred red. They were weak. They could easily take them all.

            “What is the meaning of this?” Sidious asked as though he had no clue why they were here. “I don’t remember calling a meeting.”

            “Chancellor Palpatine, it has come to our attention that you are a Sith lord,” the one she knew as Mace Windu said. “Surrender now or be destroyed.”

            “I told you the Jedi would turn on me,” the Chancellor pretended to sound nervous and weak. She looked from face to face. It was time to end this. The Jedi must die.

            Her eyes snapped to movement behind them. A little girl appeared, holding the Sith holocron. She blinked a few times as her vision of red started fading. She reached out her hand and summoned the holocron to it. She turned to float the holocron onto Sidious’ desk and dropped to her knees. Focusing her anger and hatred and passion at the small little device, emptying herself of it. She was almost certain that if the girl had brought it here, it meant the Jedi hadn’t listened to it first.

            It lifted in the air as a blue transparent hologram of her husband appeared above it. “I am Anakin Skywalker, a Jedi master and Barsen’thor of the order.” 

            A hologram of her appeared next to him. “And I am Ahsoka Tano, a Jedi master and the Fulcrum. In the time of what you call the Old Republic, there were millions of Jedi and millions of Sith. We fought in countless battles to end the destruction the Sith caused everywhere they went.”

            It switched back to Anakin. “I was known as the Chosen One, prophesied by a Jedi Shadow that I would end the threat of the Sith and bring the galaxy to peace for a thousand years. The Jedi-Sith Wars ended with the death of Darth Bane, the last major threat to fall.”

            “I was found by the Sith when I was eleven,” her hologram said. “I trained at the academy on Korriban for several years before I ran away. A Jedi found me and took me to Tython to train, and I was assigned to Anakin to be his padawan. I hid my past, ashamed of where I’d come from, but I trained hard to be a Jedi because after seeing both sides I believed in what they taught. Four years later, the Sith Emperor unleashed his secret weapon, me and thousands of others like me. We were known as the Children of the Emperor, sleepers. Chosen by him to hold a piece of his power that he could awaken in us when he was ready. Some were trained as Sith, some of us were sent to be found by the Jedi. The goal was to cause as much devastation as possible to the order and to the Republic, making the Emperor himself that much more powerful with every life we took, since we were unable to fight his control.”

            “I followed her into the darkness because I refused to let her go. In my attachment, I tasted my own time as a Sith,” his hologram said. “But because of our love for each other, she broke free of the Emperor’s control and then she helped me break free of the madness I’d fallen into. Together, we returned to the Jedi order and realigned ourselves. We taught everyone we met from that point on that there is no light side or dark side, there is only the force. Good and evil live in all of us, but we chose to accept both parts and make the choice either for our own selfish ends or for others. In the end, we’re all the same, powerful people who must be taught balance. It is only imbalance that blinds us or makes us selfish, a true Jedi knows this.”

            The two holograms of them faded and the holocron fell back onto the desk, dark and empty. “That was all very illuminating,” Darth Sidious said confidently. “An excellent speech, I might add. But you both belong to me.” He stood behind his desk and spread his fingers across it. “Kill the Jedi.”

            She pulled her lightsabers to her hands and ignited them. They shone the brightest white, no longer bleeding or broken. The Jedi present all reached for their own weapons, but she ignored them. She turned one of her blades on the dark lord. “I belong to no one but myself.” He looked at her in surprise. “Checkmate.”


	24. Order 66

            “Skywalker?” Darth Sidious asked. As though he truly believed that Anakin would turn on her. They may have had their differences and plenty of arguments, but even steeped in the way of the Sith, he wouldn’t lose sight of them that easily. Maybe before Ilum she might have believed it was possible, but now she knew better.

            “Sorry, Master,” he said in a mocking tone. “I only follow her.” The way he said it filled her with a rush of pride and joy. He’d been the master, but his devotion to her was undeniable. And in her opinion, was part of what made their love so powerful; they were devoted to each other and when they’d gotten married, they’d agreed to stand by each other, no matter what. Times and events had tested that, but in the end, they always came back home. They lived together, or they died together. There was no in-between.

            “Well then, I’m afraid you leave me no choice.” She glanced at Rex suddenly sure what they’d learned on Umbara was his last resort. Rex nodded at her ever so slightly. “Execute order sixty-six.” All the clones stepped forward, caulked their guns and pointed them not at the Jedi but at Sidious.

            “CT-7567 of the Grand Army of the Republic.” Rex stepped forward. “Me and my brothers fight to protect the people, not the corrupt leadership.” She smiled and set her hand on his shoulder and turned to face Sidious again. 

            “Hey Skyguy,” she smirked.

            “Yeah, Snips?” Anakin crossed his arms and glanced at her. 

            “What’s more fun than killing Sith?” she asked. 

            “Outplaying them,” he replied with a grin. She spun her lightsabers into her reverse grip. He ignited his and pointed it at Sidious, electricity racing down his blue blade. 

            “Chancellor Palpatine, you’re under arrest for crimes against the good people of the Republic and the Separatist Alliance. Surrender and face justice, or we will be forced to kill you,” she said calmly, narrowing her eyes and preparing for a fight. 

            “You underestimate my plans,” he started.

            “And you overestimate your importance to the people that are carrying them out,” she retorted. Several of the council members stepped forward and slapped force binders on the chancellor. She was surprised he’d gone without a fight, though she supposed he still expected Dooku would come to rescue him. His easy capture concerned her though, either he was confidently banking on Dooku or Grievous to get him out of this situation, or he had more tricks in the works. He’d been ready to fight the council as long as her and Anakin were on his side, against him, he probably knew he hadn’t stood a chance. But that didn’t mean the threat was over. She was about to remind Anakin about the rest of what his plan had entailed but he’d already turned to address the other people in the room.

            “Captain Rex, get as many civilians underground and off the streets of the upper levels as possible,” Anakin ordered, and Rex nodded and motioned to his squadron of clones to follow him after the Chancellor had been escorted out of the room. “Master Yoda and the rest of the council, Separatist warships are on their way here, launch the navy to intercept. Send a few Jedi and a battalion to Mustafar to arrest the other Separatist leaders. My wife and I will be helping down there.” He pointed out the window. “General Grievous has orders to invade.”

            “You can turn if off, just like that?” Master Kenobi asked in surprise. “We saw the dark side corruption, the red blades…”

            “With all due respect, master, now is not the time,” Anakin started but then paused. “The simple answer is yes. Becoming a Sith is a choice, some fall more easily into it than others, but at the end of the day, it’s still a choice. We only pretended to be one, acted enough like one to convince the enemy that we were. But as our holocron said, we are Jedi.”

            “We’re sorry for the deception, but it was necessary. The only way we could stop the war was to find out what the he was planning. Yes, we could have gone out there and fought the battles you needed us for, but we wouldn’t have been able to stop anything,” she said.

            “But only Sith can open a Sith holocron…” Adi Gallia said in confusion.

            “We both have been Sith in our lifetime,” she started carefully. “But even so, that’s not true. You only have to use your strong emotions to open them.”

 

\---

 

            He put out his hand to stop her from talking for a moment, but he didn’t need to, she’d felt it too. She lifted her head. “Call the navy, now,” he ordered. “They’re here.” The remaining council members looked as though they were about to argue, but then they felt it as well. He exchanged a glance with his wife and she nodded. Together they raced through the senate building, telling anyone they passed to get underground and under no circumstances to go outside until the all clear’s been given. Most of the senators just stared at them blankly. The guards they’d knocked out before were coming to and tried to stop them. Thankfully the rest of the council was behind them and ordering them to stand down and come with them.

            By the time they hit the street, several droid transport ships had already landed. He cursed under his breath. If they’d just done as he’d told them a few minutes ago, the navy might have been able to stop them from getting all the way down. But it was pointless to argue now, they had a battle to fight.

            He pulled his lightsaber to his hand sending energy down it and threw it through the first wave of droids as they marched off the ship. Ahsoka raced towards the second ship leaping into the fray. The rest of the Jedi present headed for the third one. He fell into the force, his strides getting longer as he threw himself into his battle dance. It felt good to be back in the light doing what they did best.

            Dooku was here too, he’d felt him. But for the time being, he wasn’t a threat. At the moment, the most important thing was minimizing casualties. He didn’t want to think like a Sith anymore, but when facing only droids, it was easy to raise his hatred and anger to fight. At least Rex seemed to have cleared the streets. He wasn’t sure why their chips hadn’t activated at the order, but he figured Ahsoka probably had something to do with that.

            Once he dispatched his group of droids, he glanced towards her to see if she needed help, but she was already onto the next ship that was landing. He smiled to himself and headed after her. They fell back into stride, side-by-side, fighting like they always did. “How many droids have you destroyed?” he asked with a grin as she whirled around and took out a dozen in one move.

            “More than you,” she snipped and dodged the shot that came from behind her. Flipping backwards and throwing her lightsabers forward through the last ones standing.

            “Is that a challenge?” he smirked.

            “Nope, just the truth.” When the three legions they’d taken on were lying broken around them, he leaned down to give her a quick kiss.

            “You know, Snips. I’m glad we’re Jedi again, but droids are so unsatisfying. They don’t bleed.”

            She smacked him hard on the arm and he stared at her in surprise. “Ouch. What was that for?” He rubbed his shoulder where it was now stinging.

            “To remind you we’re not pretending anymore,” she said in annoyance.

            “I was just making a joke,” he muttered under his breath.

            “Yeah? Well it’s not funny.” He looked her over feeling shame spread through him. She was right, it wasn’t funny. What the kriff had he been thinking? Ahsoka had gone along with the plan to switch sides because she believed it was the only way to stop this, but he’d forgotten how sensitive she was to all of this. As he’d known she would, she’d stayed above the stormy waves, never completely giving in. But it still had forced her to do things she’d never forgive herself for. And he should have known better. Why was it so easy to forget she’d been a Sith? Several times even? Probably because despite her past, she was the best representation he’d ever known of what a Jedi should be. And if she hadn’t of been here with him, he would never have stopped any of this. Which only went to prove, the council of their day wasn’t very smart either. At least when all of this was over, she’d be going with him for sure next time.

            He turned to see a large droid with four lightsabers bearing down on Obi Wan who was hanging off the ledge. “Look out!” He started to run in to help, but before he’d even made it a few paces, the droid’s head was severed from his body by a flash of red.

            Dooku stepped over his corpse and reached down to offer the Jedi master his hand. “Come on, Kenobi,” Dooku drawled. “My apprentice taught you better than that.” He felt Obi wan’s surprise but then he reached up to take Dooku’s hand.

            “Forgive me, Count,” Kenobi said, brushing himself off. “This whole switching sides thing is new to me. And I’m still not sure if I should trust you.”

            Dooku looked past Obi Wan at where he and Ahsoka were standing. They both nodded to him. He stared at them a moment and then tipped his head respectfully.

            “It’s new to me too,” Dooku said thoughtfully. “But since they showed me it could be done, I thought I’d give it a whirl.”

            Anakin walked up and put out his hand to Dooku. He hesitated a moment but then shook it. “Welcome home.”

            For the first time since they’d met him, Dooku smiled. Not a fake smile or an evil grin. A real one, with genuine emotion. Obviously, the war here hadn’t changed anything. The new Jedi were still stuck in their ways and under the same leadership they’d been before the battle. But maybe, just maybe, what happened today would start the ball of change. And the only way he and his wife could help the order further, was to show them what they’d refused to see before.

_There is no dark side or light side. There is only the force. Do not fear it, for it is not to be feared. Respect it, for it holds a great many secrets. And when you’re taught to no longer deny aspects of yourself, you will know only balance and peace. Even in the middle of a war._


	25. Redemption and Balance

            The trial dragged on for days. It went to prove that politics rarely changed even in a thousand years. There was still bureaucracy and corrupt politicians in it for their own gain. And since Sith had been underground for so long, most people didn’t even know what they were. They believed Palpatine was a good Chancellor and at many points they actually defended him against the Jedi. Even after the Separatist leaders that had been rounded up on Mustafar were brought forward, Palpatine wasn’t seen as guilty since most of their dealings had been with Dooku. Ultimately though, fearing Sidious double-crossing him at some point, Dooku was able to present years’ worth of evidence of Palpatine’s plans and recorded conversations between the two of them. Even that wasn’t immediately accepted as evidence since in every recording, Sidious had been cloaked and his voice disguised. But finally, they were able to convince the Senate of the identity with repeated hologram identifications.

            Even her and Anakin had been forced to face trial in all of it as well. This era was so different from the way things had once been. But at least once Palpatine was proven guilty, their fault in all of it was overlooked by far more pressing matters. And despite Dooku’s role in the war, they’d begged everyone to give him another chance. To their surprise, it was actually the Jedi that swayed the Senate’s final verdict, admitting that their own actions had caused some of it and that they would go about fixing their methods. Whatever the Jedi had become, at least they still held credibility in the public eye having been on the front lines of the war effort for so long.

            Now here they stood, in front of the council as the dust settled around them. The war hadn’t ended, there were still things that had to be dealt with. But it was time for her and Anakin to explain to them all of what had happened, and also hopefully, get them back on the right track. The final part of their role in this era, was prove to the council once and for all that what they’d been saying from the beginning was true.

            “Follow us, there is something we must show you,” she said after they’d told everything that they’d discovered and why they’d done the things they had.

            She’d felt an awakening in the temple. Dooku returning had changed the energy here but not in a bad way. They led the reluctant council down to one of the temple courtyards. A crowd of all ages had gathered around the count as he demonstrated force lightning on a training dummy, showing a student how to do it too.

            “He’s corrupting them! Teaching them dark side abilities!” someone gasped from off to their left. She couldn’t be sure if it was one of the council members or not that said it.

            “Listen, please,” she begged the people present as they suddenly became the center of attention. “There is no such thing as the dark side. Or the light side. The force itself isn’t divided into two parts; it just is. There are light ways to use it and dark ways to use it, but the force itself is neutral. That is all it is, that is all it can be.”

            “The light side, as you call it, works with the natural order of things. When using the force, you allow it to dictate what you can or cannot do. You release all sense of control and allow it to flow through you. Then you follow it where it leads,” Anakin explained. “What you call the dark side, is really nothing of the sort. It manipulates the force, obstructing its natural flow and turning it into something different. But because the force is all powerful, you can’t hurt it by doing this. It is designed to live in balance. To be used in both ways.” 

            He drew on the force around them, feeling the shift in the air. They felt it too, because they gasped and stepped backwards. He took the force he’d gathered and twisted it, manipulating it and molding it until it changed form and physically manifested as crackling energy in his fingertips. Then he sent a stream of that energy, better known as force lightning, towards her. She drew on the force around herself, pouring it over her and rather than manipulating it, she simply pointed it in a direction, effectively shielding herself and those closest to her. They both released their holds on the force and it fell back into its natural balance as though they’d done nothing at all to it. 

            To drive the point home, they repeated the process, only this time, she used the ‘dark side’ ability and he used the ‘light side’ to shield. Once they released the second time, they turned to face the council. 

            “Don’t you see? It’s not the force that is light or dark, good or evil. It is us. Either form of the force could be used both ways, so saying that some of it is dark and some of it is light, does nothing but limit yourselves,” she said. She felt something and smiled. “Helalin, would you kindly give the council a demonstration?” They all gasped out loud when the little girl appeared in front of them. “Helalin here, is a Jedi shadow. Without being able to manipulate the force, her natural talent and abilities would be useless. You would claim that what she does is dark, but it’s not. If her abilities were evil, the force wouldn’t require what it did for her to use them. To obscure herself in the force, she _has_ to move it. If she goes with the natural order of it, anybody anywhere could sense her.” She patted the girl’s shoulder. “Disappear slowly so they can feel what you’re doing,” she instructed. The girl nodded. All at once the force around them became a kind of vacuum as she drew it towards herself. Then it swirled around her for a moment as though she was spinning a cloak around her shoulders and putting it on. As the force settled, re-balancing itself to account for the energy she’d just drawn from it, she slowly faded from sight, until you could no more sense her than see her. 

            Ahsoka knelt down and pulled the girl into her arms, though to everyone else it looked as though she were hugging air. Helalin giggled. She beckoned them to come forward, one at a time to attempt to sense her first and then she’d guide their hands to touch her shoulder. 

            “All she did was move it. Is that so dark? She _moved_ the force, so it falls off her rather than intersects with her. You can’t sense her, because she made it flow around her. But she’s not gone, she’s still physically right here. If she weren’t to move, you’d still run into her.” Helalin reappeared in front of them. 

            “What Count Dooku is doing, is no darker than what she just did. The only reason it makes you uncomfortable is because it disrupts the way you’re used to experiencing the force. But as we demonstrated, the force is designed to be used both ways. And however you use it, it will naturally re-balance itself,” Anakin said. “The only thing that makes any of this good or evil is what you do with it.”

            “Dooku was forced to deny his own nature for so long that he lost his balance. He could no longer feel the force as he was supposed to connect with it. Consulars are especially sensitive to the minute changes as they have to be to use every one of their abilities. In his attempt to re-balance himself, he lost sight of how to do that. He believed, the only way he could restore the order was to give it a chance to start fresh. And since what you called the ‘light side,’ but was really denial of your whole self, was what seemed to cause the imbalance, he believed the only way to fix it was to use what you called the ‘dark side.’ When in reality, all he’d done was stop denying his true nature. But because you feared this darkness, his inexperience with balance and his true power caused him to align with someone who could stabilize him. And in this case, it happened to be a Sith,” she said passionately. 

            “In our time, a Sith was a force user that worked for the Empire or their own selfish gains. Many of them were manipulative and cold, they would almost always double cross people if it benefited them in some way. They could use all the same abilities as a Jedi, the only thing that made them evil was how they used their power or what they did to gain that power. The Sith was an organization, just like the Jedi order. Constant manipulation of the force and imbalance is what shows the Sith corruption, not the use of certain abilities,” Anakin said and beckoned Dooku over to them. “Pull out your lightsaber.”

            Anakin pulled out his own lightsaber and ignited it, pointing his blue blade at the ground. Dooku ignited his and did the same, the blade was still red. She felt her husband twist the force and make his crystal bleed again, summoning power around him and purposely unbalancing himself. The tension around them rose as everyone watched in surprise as red seemed to drip from the hilt and slowly consume the blade. After a moment he released his grip on the force and re-centered himself in calm and balance. The kyber crystal relaxed in the force, balancing itself out and realigning with his purpose. Once again, his blade turned blue. She almost laughed as everyone watched in awe. Then Anakin nodded at Dooku.

            The count closed his eyes and attempted to return himself to a place of peace and calm, falling deep into meditation and balance. Several people cheered as his blade changed from red to his original green. His kyber crystal responded poetically to his realignment of himself. “How is that possible?” Master Kenobi asked.

            “Lightsaber crystals can be made to bleed, but you can’t break them by twisting them like that,” Anakin said. “They’re a good indicator of your true intention and desire.”

            “So why are yours white?” a youngling asked her. She smiled and patted them on the shoulder. Then she pulled out her blades and pointed them at the ground.

            “I’ve always wondered that myself, since white ones are rare,” she started. “But then I remember that I have lived both sides of the force; steeped in darkness and the power-hungry ways of the Sith, but also the calm, peace, and selflessness of a Jedi. I like to think it represents clarity and balance. That my crystal doesn’t align to one doctrine or another because I live in the middle. My actions are as a Jedi, but my past was as a Sith. To survive, I had to find where I fit into the world. So, I guess, my white blades represent that.”

            An elderly Cosian hobbled forward, holding onto a cane. His hair was back with two long segments tied to the sides of his head. She looked him over as he pulled the top of his cane apart and ignited his own saber. She was surprised to see his white as well. “A white blade,” he started. “Is one that belongs to only those that in the face of all manner of horrific things, can stay calm and focused on the living force. You, child, have demonstrated throughout your life, and your journey here and there, that the force lives strongly in you and that no one can truly corrupt you without your consent. I’ve heard of your past, and of these Children of the Emperor, and I can tell you with certainty, that your will for good and light is the reason your blade is white. And the same reason the Sith Emperor lost his hold on you.”

            Anakin came up and put his arm around her. “I can attest to her will for good,” he said proudly. “And she is the perfect example of what we’re trying to teach you all about the true nature of the force. It’s not where you come from, it’s who you choose to be. As Jedi or as Sith, we are the force incarnate. There is good and evil in every living thing and the force encompasses all of that. It will do whatever it must to stay in balance. But that isn’t about numbers. It’s about balancing yourselves and what you do with the power you’ve been given. Do not deny aspects of yourself but learn control over them. Dooku, Helalin and probably plenty others here, inside you is the soul of a consular. Do not fear yourselves or what you can do. Your fear will imbalance you. This goes for the warriors and the guardians as well. The force designed you to fulfill a purpose, it gave you your talents and skills. To deny them is to deny the force. Learn them, learn peace, use it for good, and nothing can corrupt you.”


	26. Time to Sleep Again

            He bustled about the room, not sure why he couldn’t stop fidgeting with stuff. It wasn’t like they were going somewhere they could pack a bag. They were getting ready to be frozen in carbonite again, but he was still restless. Was this the way they were going to live out the rest of their lives? Repeatedly being frozen and woken up in different eras to different problems for however long and then put back to sleep? How long would this go on?

            “There’s something I need to tell you before you go back to sleep for a thousand years,” Ahsoka said after awhile. He glanced at her. She was sitting on the bed, not calm exactly, but far less anxious than him.

            “What is it, Snips?” he asked distractedly, his nerves making it hard to focus on anything. At least she knew what they were doing this time. At least he didn’t have to hide it. But he hated to admit he didn’t really want to do it again.

            “I’m pregnant,” she whispered. He froze, nearly dropping what he had in his hand.

            “You are?” he asked, looking at her in surprise. Why hadn’t he noticed?

            “Feel for yourself.” He sat down next to her and he set his hand on her stomach and closed his eyes. Sure enough, he could feel the life growing inside her. He swallowed hard. He wasn’t sure about being a father, not really. It wasn’t that Jedi couldn’t have families, at least not the Jedi of their time, but… he’d never given much thought to settling down. Life was always so chaotic. There were always problems, always things needing to be done. And when you swore your life to the order, and to the Republic, it wasn’t like you could just stop serving the people. He loved Ahsoka and starting a family wasn’t that odd, but he was the Chosen One, or they both were. But duty aside, he didn’t have a clue how to be a dad. Would he be a good one? He knew Ahsoka would be an amazing mother.

            “Well… that will make things interesting the next time we’re woken up,” he said after awhile trying to shake the weight that had settled over him at the news. “Come on, they’ll be expecting us soon, we should get going.” She looked at him sadly and he cringed, realizing that he hadn’t given her any kind of expression or assurance that he wanted them to have a child. He opened his mouth, but then he saw something in her eyes that made the words catch in his throat.

            “Anakin… I’m not going with you this time,” she breathed.

            “But…” He didn’t get a chance to finish the thought. There was a chime at the door. He hesitated to go open it, his limbs feeling like lead.

            “We’re ready for you,” Master Kenobi said when he answered it. He looked over his shoulder at her and she beckoned for him to go, sitting back against the bed. But he didn’t want to go. Not without her.

            He turned back around and she shook her head. “Please don’t say goodbye,” she whispered. “My heart can’t take it. Go, the galaxy needs you. Take care of yourself.” She touched him softly on the cheek and then brushed past him, disappearing down the hallway. He watched her go in surprise. His chest hurt, his body ached. It was as though someone had stolen every ounce of energy he possessed.

            “It’s time to go,” Obi wan said again. He looked at the Jedi master blankly and finally nodded, following him down the hall. His steps slowed, he struggled to breathe. They’d promised each other forever. After everything they’d been through this past month and since they’d first met… he’d had no plans to ever say goodbye again and yet she was forcing him too. Tears started rolling down his cheek. It felt like the first time all over again. Except this time, she knew where he was going and didn’t want to come along. He finally understood what she went through a thousand years ago. The idea of facing the future without her… was just as horrible now as it had been back then.

            He stood on the platform, waiting to be lowered into the chamber. Try as he might, he couldn’t pull himself together. This was his sworn duty. This was what he’d promised the council he would do, but right now… he could care less. The platform started lowering and he leapt out before he could change his mind.

            “I’m sorry, masters,” he said to the people present. “I’m not going without her.”

            “But the future generations?”

            “Every generation is full of heroes. They don’t need me. The prophecy was only about what I did in my time. I’ve fulfilled my duty. Now? I just want to live.” He started marching back down the hallway before they could argue. He wasn’t ready to be a dad, but he’d sworn to her if he had any control over the situation, he wasn’t leaving her. And he wasn’t going to. Not this time.

            He found her coming out of the restroom, wiping her eyes as though she’d been crying and he swept her into his arms and kissed her hard. She looked up at him startled to see him there. “What are you doing?” she asked breathlessly.

            “I’m doing what I should have done a thousand years ago,” he replied, brushing his fingers down her cheek. “You are my wife, my world, my one true love and I’m not leaving without you. If you’re not coming, then I’m not going.”

            “But the future generations?”

            “Is there an echo in this temple?” he smirked, kissing her again. Then he set his hand on her stomach. “This is the only future I care about right now. You and me and our child.”

            She melted in his arms and he held her tight. After a few minutes she started laughing and he looked her over in confusion. “You just lost all your idiot allowances for the day,” she murmured. “But the payoff is worth it, so I don’t even care.”

            “If being with you forever means I’m an idiot, then I’m a kriffing idiot.”

            “Yeah you are, but you’re my idiot and I love you.”

 

\---

 

            It was strange how very little could change in a thousand years, but how so much could change in only five. He leaned down on the railing of the balcony of their new home, overlooking the beautiful greenery and waterfalls that were part of what he loved the most about Tython. He let his mind wander as he thought about how they’d ended up here. Ahsoka joined him a few minutes later and he smiled at her. She slipped her arm through his and leaned her head down on his shoulder.

            They weren’t officially part of the Jedi order anymore but had remained advisors. They oversaw the construction of the new academy on Tython and often was asked to come and teach or talk to new students. Since they once again opened their doors to all ages, the modern Jedi struggled with how to relate to them. Count Dooku was now in charge of the Consular branch of the Order and from what he understood, he loved his new position. Even though things hadn’t gone quite how he’d hoped, he’d seen the noticeable shift as the order turned back towards its former glory. It had been difficult to convince them to let go of their traditional and limited ways, but the more they saw that it didn’t need to be feared, the more balanced they became. The one thing they wouldn’t let go was their view on attachments.

            Despite everything they’d seen him and Ahsoka accomplish together, they remained adamant they shouldn’t be allowed or encouraged. It frustrated him, but at the same time, it was the reason they were allowed to semi-retire from constant duty and raise their beautiful baby girl. As advisors, they could pick and choose what to be involved in and despite how used to action he was, he was coming to really enjoy being a teacher more than a fighter. Besides, raising a strong force sensitive child was a full-time job in itself.

            He glanced down to see Helalin, now ten, grab their daughter’s hand and disappear in the force. A few minutes later, they reappeared, rolling in the grass in a fit of giggles. At some point, they’d unofficially adopted the girl. Or rather, she’d adopted them. But they couldn’t let her babysit, because she had a tendency to make their kid disappear. Never play hide and seek with a Jedi shadow, you’ll lose. Though strong in the force, their daughter didn’t demonstrate the same shadow abilities. In many ways, she seemed to be more like Ahsoka. He didn’t mind, more people needed to be like Ahsoka. She’d truly lived up to her title of Fulcrum. It was more than a title, it was the truth. A fulcrum was anybody that played a pivotal role in turning the tides and she’d most certainly done that. She’d done it several times a thousand years ago and then she’d done it again in this time. Without her, he would have failed miserably.

            The Sith Emperor’s greatest mistake was putting a part of himself in someone as strong-willed as her, since she became his ultimate undoing. At least in this time, she got the recognition she’d so deserved before. Everyone loved her, the younglings and padawans especially. Every once in awhile he’d get jealous that they’d run past him to go to her, but then he’d remind himself that she deserved it. And frankly, she earned it far more than he had. His title meant nothing without her. The Chosen One had only fulfilled the prophecy because of the Fulcrum. And as the years wore on, he’d begun to insist people stop calling him that.

            As the war had come to an end, there’d been plenty of cleanup still left to do. The rest of the clones had their bio-chips removed. They were given an option to continue to serve with pay or receive a severance package and do with their life what they wanted. Count Dooku had generously helped make all of that happen. Rex had been promoted to General and had become one of the most prominent and well decorated soldiers in the army. Which all became very important as even five years later they were still finding Sidious’ tricks and pieces of his plan.

            The Confederacy of Independent Systems floundered without Dooku’s leadership but never rejoined the Republic. A few planets did, but the rest decided they’d rather stay where they were. After the leaders of the trade federation, the banking clan and the techno union, and several others that had conspired against the Republic were replaced by a more capable leadership, dealings with both sides were renegotiated. The Republic, under Supreme Chancellor Amidala, found a way to form a peaceful truce with the Confederacy, allowing them to continue operations and end the hostility between the two government bodies.

            Probably the biggest influence that he and Ahsoka had on the new Jedi order was two-fold; they insisted the Jedi be released from the Senate control. Allowing them to become neutral and unaffiliated to any one government in the galaxy. This made it possible to become ambassadors of good will for all sides. The second part of that, was starting the diplomatic corps, where every Jedi was required to do a tour of duty helping humanitarian efforts on all different planets. The purpose was to remind them that their duty to the people came before their duty to a government. It also helped them reconnect to the outside world to ensure what had happened before they’d come along didn’t happen again. No more reclusive monks forgetting their role in the galaxy. It also helped teach them balance as they traveled from place to place experiencing all walks of life and all different societies. It had been an incredibly positive experience for all involved, even the Jedi council had expressed their appreciation at the program and the new perspective it offered.

            A few months ago they’d made their own contribution to the ongoing future of the Jedi order; he and Ahsoka had made their own holocrons. They’d poured everything into them, the good and the bad, in order to preserve their story for future generations. At first, he’d struggled with feeling selfish when he’d refused to freeze himself yet again. But as the time wore on, he understood the truth.

            Him and his wife were powerful, they carried an extensive legacy and burden. But like every other person in the universe, they had a place in it. Their place had been during the Old Republic. Preserving themselves and being brought forward a thousand years had disrupted the natural way of life and death. To continue to do so, would only disrupt it further. And since they couldn’t go back to where they’d come from, they had no choice but to stay here. The force would stay in balance without them. It would create heroes and villains as needed. If the force became unbalanced again, it would fix itself with or without their presence.

            He pulled Ahsoka closer and kissed her on the forehead. His place was right here, by her side. And that’s all he ever needed to know for sure, for the rest of his life.


End file.
